It's Purely Carnal
by HannahMCR
Summary: An AU HP/SS. Snape receives a vistor late at night who is not who he seems to be. Will he and Harry survive?  Rated M for strong language, underage sex   slash  and drinking. Disclaimer: I am not JKR, and do not own any of the HP-verse.
1. Chapter 1

It's Purely Carnal

Snape looked up from his papers and sighed.

"Potter, I've got far too much to do. There's a pile of essays with nothing in it, and a failure pile that is certainly only too easy to put them in. So, if you'd like to whine about Ms. Weasley, or if you want anything else, please come back later. I realize you think she's difficult; but, honestly, you treat her like a princess."

Snape watched the boy walk across the room. He was silent. Then Severus's Mark twitched.

He watched in terror and awe as the Dark Lord fell from Potter's body. He leaped from his desk and bowed in front of the spot where his master was currently solidifying.

"Severusssss…"

Snape involuntarily shuddered at the mix of snake and man.

"Yes, my Lord?"

"You did not sense me coming."

It was not a question.

"No, my Lord. Your guise was very good." Severus focused on clearing his mind of treacherous thoughts.

The Dark Lord stood.

"Excellent…I must ask, Severus."

Curiosity from the Dark Lord was never a good thing.

"Why did you believe that it was Potter before his body had even reached the light? Why would the boy come so late at night?"

"He has visited before, my Lord."

Severus exhaled slowly.

"Oh? And you haven't reported this to me."

"No, my Lord. I apologize."

Severus watched as the Dark Lord circled. He was only too aware of the wand in those long, pale fingers.

"What does the boy visit for, Severus?"

"It's purely carnal, my Lord."

The lust could be easily explained; he was known in the Death Eater circle for it. The rest…it could be kept hidden.

Voldemort laughed. It was a chilling sound. Instead of joy, it inspired fear.

"Carnal, Severus? You have been having intercourse with the boy?"

"Yes, my Lord."

"You wouldn't be lying to me; would you, Severus?"

He willingly opened his mind to Voldemort, keeping the deadly thoughts locked behind a hidden wall in his mind.

"Very good, Severus, very good indeed. I would have liked to have been informed of this. What does the boy think of you, Severus?"

"It's not always consensual, my Lord."

A lie.

"You said he comes to visit you."

Again, not a question. Voldemort wanted to catch him in a lie.

"He does, my Lord. As I said when you first entered, he usually comes to complain. It started out consensual, but now it is rather forced."

"What does this do for us, Severus?"

"I am gaining his trust, my Lord."

"How, Severus? It only seems that you are making him hate you more."

"No, my Lord. He is carefully Obliviated each time, leaving him with a sense of self-doubt and general anger, but nothing more. And then he comes to me – and that is consensual."

"So you are confusing and troubling the boy."

"Yes, my Lord. It will make him easier to destroy. He is becoming alienated from his so – called friends, and Dumbledore is getting nothing from him."

He was lying faster than he thought possible, but he was weaving a probable story. His palms were sweaty, but he kept his face composed. He needed to make this story work, or both Harry and he were dead.

"Very well, Severus. Now. What to do with Harry."

Severus's heart beat quicker.

"My Lord, if I may suggest something-"

"Don't become infatuated, Severus."

"No, my Lord, of course not. But, if you were to kill him now, Dumbledore and the others would only accuse you of cowardice, and it would boost the morale."

Voldemort sighed, a sound that emphasized the snake inside of him.

"What does the boy really think of you, Severus?"

"He is infatuated, as teenagers are prone to do."

"Why, Severus?"

"He is sexually confused-"

"No, you misunderstand. What is it about you, Severus Snape, which attracts love – romantic or sexual – from Harry Potter?"

"I am unsure, my Lord. The boy's explanations are the nonsense of a love struck fool."

And Severus had asked, many times.

Voldemort laughed softly.

"He is Harry Potter, the 'boy who lived'. Surely there are better partners than you, Severus."

Severus nodded, accepting the criticism.

"There is still the dilemma of what to do with Harry."

Snape allowed himself a glance at Harry. He wore that frown that meant he was having another nightmare. Severus wished to make it go away.

"My Lord, if you were to kill him now, I would not be able to remain here."

"But if I were to kill him now, I would have no need for a spy in Hogwarts."

Voldemort sighed again.

"I fear this is going to be a repeat of the Lily incident."

Severus stiffened. She was still a raw subject.

"My Lord, you know I detest the boy."

"Not enough to not have intercourse with him."

"My Lord, sex has nothing to do with it. I still abhor him."

"Yes, so you say. Too much of the father. Nevertheless, he is still Lily's. Are you sure that there is no affection in you for him?"

"Of course not, my Lord."

Snape felt the Dark Lord's mind knock against his own, and he willingly opened it.

"Are you hiding something from me, Severus?"

"My Lord, I thought you would appreciate not seeing the memories of the intercourse."

"I have never understood your sexual preferences, Severus. The boy is not attractive. Or perhaps, it is simply the idea of sleeping with Harry Potter?"

Snape smirked.

"Of course the idea is appealing, my Lord."

"What about the blood traitor girl?"

"Ginny Weasley."

"Yes. Isn't he hopelessly in love with her?"

His thin lips curled. He obviously couldn't imagine anyone being in love.

"It's more that she is in love with him. He wants nothing to do with her. He complains about her endlessly."

Voldemort was leaning down and touching Harry. Snape restrained himself. Harry jumped, but he didn't wake.

"Is he under the Imperius, my Lord?"

"Yes. It was ridiculously easy."

Voldemort paused, still pressing his fingers to Harry's scar.

"Severus…are these your teeth marks on the boy's neck?"

Blood rushed to Severus's cheeks, but he kept his face expressionless.

"Yes, my Lord."

Voldemort chuckled darkly, trailing his finger down Harry's neck to the love bite in question.

"Severus. You have tasted this boy's blood – the same blood that now runs inside my veins. This boy cannot be allowed to live – you know that. I cannot, and will not, allow this to become Lily all over again. You have seen before that I will not make exceptions for your sexual interests. Harry Potter must die, and it must be tonight."

"My Lord…"

Severus needed to be careful here. He wiped his palms on his robes, thankful for Occlumency and Harry – Voldemort was still enthralled with making the boy twitch.

"There has been new intelligence."

"Why haven't you reported it to me?"

"Before tonight, it had not seemed to be a pressing matter."

The Dark Lord prodded Snape's mind, and it opened before him.

"Well, what is it, Severus?"

He could easily find it in Severus's mind, but why bother?

"Dumbledore has been doing more research on the prophecy. He does have the woman who made it, however useless she is now."

"What has he found?"

Voldemort swirled around to look Snape in the eyes. Snape stared back, keeping the pity he felt locked up carefully. This man, who had once been so powerful, so charismatic, now was disgusting and barely human. Snape saw the fanaticism in his eyes, the same light that all the Death Eaters saw, and knew that Voldemort would listen to every word he said.

"He believes that if Harry is killed without fighting back, the circumstances of his demise will be very different and perhaps devastating for you."

Voldemort looked for a trace of a lie, and found none. He turned back to Harry's scar.

"Severus…you may be telling me what you believe to be true, but I don't believe it."

"My Lord-"

"No, Severus. This boy will never wake again."

"My Lord, Dumbledore has guards everywhere. In this state…"

Voldemort heard the implied warning.

"Harry's blood has strengthened me – along with Wormtail's hand and my father's bone. Wormtail is the weak one. He wished to come, but he must stay. He is telling my other faithful what to do. Severus…you didn't join us. It was glorious, but strange. I imagine you haven't heard the full story yet?"

Severus shook his head.

"I was bested again by Harry Potter. That is why he must die now, in sleep. Killing does not affect me the way it used to. I am strong."

Voldemort reached into his pocket with his unnaturally long fingers.

"Dumbledore is watching now. He has resources, my Lord, which I am not allowed to know. He suspects me. If Potter dies tonight, I die."

"Severus, you are loyal, and your death would pain me, but Harry is more important."

Snape stood and reached for his wand.

"Severus, as wonderful a dueler as you are, attacking me would be an unwise course of action."

"No, my Lord. My wards have been tripped."

"Why did they not trip when Harry's body brought me here?"

Blood rushed back to Snape's face.

"You wished him to come. I see. Your fetishes aside, who is coming?"

"Quite likely Dumbledore. You emit a dark energy, my Lord, and it's likely he noticed it. It might be wise to flee."

"You seem to forget that I am stronger now. Dumbledore does not scare me."

"He brings reinforcements, my Lord. Aurors, along with Alastor Moody…Perhaps even Lupin and Black."

"A crazy old Auror who sees me everywhere, Ministry brats with no talent, and a werewolf and a mutt. I am not afraid, Severus. Leave Dumbledore for me."

"My Lord-"

Severus was cut off when Dumbledore finally burst in. Severus immediately repositioned himself to be able to take care of Harry, and to not align himself with a side.

"Tom. You've returned."

Dumbledore spoke as if a favorite student of his had come for a visit, instead of a Dark Lord coming to kill Harry Potter.

"Always so cool, Dumbledore. You and Harry, along with your group of followers, die tonight; you must realize that."

"You can't touch him, Tom. He is protected by love."

Dumbledore shot a glance at Snape, who coolly returned it.

"Love?"

Voldemort scoffed.

"That does nothing against me. I suppose you will say Lily is still protecting him, even from the grave?"

"No, someone else's."

Severus's palms started sweating again. Dumbledore took a step toward Harry, but kept his wand pointed at Voldemort, who was cool and collected.

"The blood traitor girl's? Yours, Dumbledore? The mutt? Nothing, Dumbledore; easily destroyed."

"You are ignoring the obvious, Tom."

Severus kept his head high and his mind blank, but he could do nothing about the flush of color spreading across his neck.

Voldemort caught Dumbledore looking at Severus. His lip curled.

"Severus? He's mine, Dumbledore, and certainly has no affection for Harry Potter. Sexual interest, perhaps, but it's purely carnal."

"I was unaware that anything carnal was going on."

"Then what would lead you to think that there was any affection for Harry from Severus?"

Voldemort twirled his wand.

Severus felt like a child again; watching his parents fight. Everyone was ignoring him, just like his childhood.

"I know Severus well."

"That makes no difference."

Voldemort took a step closer to Harry. The Aurors, and especially Sirius, got ready to cast spells, but Dumbledore was faster. He cast a shield charm, and the spells cast harmlessly off.

"Harry is in no danger."

Severus disagreed.

Voldemort laughed that bone-chilling chuckle again.

"Yes he is, Dumbledore. He is an inch from death, and I will finally win."

"Try."

Snape jolted despite himself. Dumbledore was going to get Harry killed!

Voldemort pointed his wand at Harry.

"Avada Kedavra."

There was a bright flash of green light, and Severus felt his heart break. But, when the light cleared, Voldemort was gone, and Harry was still there. Severus rushed over to check his breathing, but Sirius shoved him out of the way.

"You leave him alone, you greasy motherfucker."

"Sirius, please. Severus just saved Harry's life."

Sirius stared at Dumbledore incredulously. Snape shook his head, confused.

"I did…?"

"I told you, Severus; love is a powerful tool."

"I don't…we aren't…"

Sirius shoved Severus against the nearest wall. Snape rolled his eyes.

"You motherfucker, you are fucking him!"

"Sirius, please! I'm sure it's more than that."

"You just admitted that you had no idea that anything sexual was going on, so why should I believe that you know anything."

Snape sighed. He looked over at Harry, and was pleased to see that Lupin had the presence of mind to check Harry's pulse.

"Wake Harry up. He'll tell you the truth."

"Are you comfortable with the truth, Severus?"

"I have done nothing to be ashamed of. Personally, I don't believe this is anyone's business expect Harry's and mine. As it seems this mangy mutt is going to kill me anyway, we might as well have the truth."

"Don't you call me a mangy mutt-"

"Sirius."

Sirius grumbled, and didn't release Snape.

Dumbledore nodded, his eyes twinkling slightly, and cast a wordless spell on Harry.

He came to slowly, and was extremely disorientated. He looked around and focused on Severus first.

"Severus…what the hell happened?"

Sirius flinched at the familiarity.

"All in good time. First, perhaps you could ask this mutt to let me go?"

Harry noticed Sirius for the first time.

"Sirius! Let go of Severus."

Then his face blanched. He was being friendly to Snape in front of his worst enemy.

Dumbledore, grinning, motioned to Sirius to let go of Snape. He did, grudgingly. Harry immediately rushed over and pulled Severus into a hug. Snape blushed. Then he caught sight of Sirius's murderous expression and Lupin's displeased one, and he returned the hug, smirking. Being hugged by Harry and making the werewolf and the mutt mad? Priceless.

Harry seemed to have figured out what had happened because he was checking Severus's Dark Mark. It had faded since Voldemort's disappearance, but it was still dark enough to suggest that he was not dead.

"Severus, what the fuck happened? My scar…"

"The Dark Lord happened."

"What did he do?"

"Possessed you, and then tried to kill you."

"Did he…um…find out any secrets?"

"You can call it what it is. Dumbledore apparently knows."

Harry blushed.

"He knows…everything?"

"Everything about us, yes. The mutt isn't satisfied. He wants the whole story."

"I have to tell it?"

"Are you ashamed of it?"

Harry shook his head violently.

"Tell them then."

Harry sighed.

"Now?"

Dumbledore took a step toward the pair.

"How about we go up to my office and the Aurors who aren't connected to this information can go search the grounds?"

Everyone nodded, and Dumbledore, Snape, Harry, Sirius, and Lupin went up to the office. Harry was still disorientated and he stuck close to Severus, making Sirius glower.

Everyone sat down. Harry fidgeted nervously. Sirius tried to be patient for about a minute.

"Harry, just tell us what the hell is going on between you and Snape."

"It's complicated."

"How did it start?"

"I don't know…I had detention. Ginny came in and yelled at me for getting in trouble again. I guess I yelled back, and after she left I just sort of…vented. I get in trouble a lot, so we just kept talking. Eventually…"

Harry shrugged.

"So, you're not fucking him?"

Harry blushed, looking into Sirius's expectant face.

"Well…no. I am."

Sirius flinched.

"Why? I mean…is it just sex?"

Harry looked over at Severus, who seemed to be very interested in a spot on the wall.

"Well…not to me."

Dumbledore smiled.

"Certainly not for Severus either. His love saved you tonight."

Harry frowned.

"That's a story for another time. Harry, Sirius still looks like he wants to kill me. Maybe you could assure him that everything is consensual?"

Harry nodded furiously.

"Oh, of course it is! I…well, technically, I started it."

Sirius shuddered.

Dumbledore stood.

"I think that's enough for one night, Harry. You must be exhausted. We need to get you to the hospital wing."

Harry nodded, and Sirius stood, but Dumbledore motioned him back down.

"I will take Harry to the hospital wing. You and Lupin stay here. Talk to Severus. You all have a vested interest in Harry, and you need to put away your old school boy quarrels."

Severus scowled. Harry looked back at him before the door shut.

Sirius crossed his arms and turned away from Snape, acting like a child.

Lupin sighed.

"Both of you need to sit and talk. Sirius, you know that Harry is stubborn. He's not going to stop being with Snape just because you want him to. Snape, you must know Harry just as well as Sirius does. He'll be upset if the two of you can't work something out."

"He can stop fucking my godson."

"He can leave Harry alone and let him pick who he wants to fuck."

Lupin rolled his eyes.

"Compromise, you two."

"Remus, you can't possibly be fine with Harry fucking a Death Eater!"

Severus scowled.

"It's none of my business, Sirius. Maybe I'm just more mature than you."

"Whatever."

Neither Severus nor Sirius looked ready to talk.

Dumbledore walked back in.

"Harry is well taken care of. Have the two of you reached an agreement?"

Lupin chuckled.

Dumbledore sighed.

"I expected as much. Neither of you can visit Harry until you reach an agreement."

Severus scowled; Sirius swore.

"Honestly, you two. You both love Harry, albeit in different ways. Can't you get along?"

"Albus, don't be such an optimist. I have hated this mangy mutt for years, and I'm not going to stop because I love Harry."

Sirius flushed.

"Same here."

"How about a compromise? Both of you can love Harry in the ways he wants you to, and leave the other alone."

"Nothing would make me happier than to never see this flea-bitten mongrel again."

"I don't think Snape should be allowed around Harry. He's too close to Voldemort."

"Severus, I've been meaning to ask you this. What do you think happened to Voldemort?"

Severus pulled his sleeve up. Sirius recoiled from the Mark.

"My Mark is still dark. It is similar to the night the Potters died. I believe that the Dark Lord is still alive, weak and hiding somewhere. I must go and look for him if I want to remain on his good side."

"You may do so."

Severus hesitated.

"What is it?"

"May I see Harry before I leave?"

"As long as you realize that you and Sirius are not done negotiating."

"Of course."

"Then go."

Sirius snorted.

Snape left quickly.

Harry was sitting up in a hospital bed, looking weak but angry.

"Severus! I see Sirius didn't kill you."

He grinned, watching Severus closely.

"Not that he didn't want to."

Snape sighed.

"Harry…we've never truly discussed this. Do you truly think that there is something between us?"

"Of course I do. I…I think I love you, Severus."

Harry flushed.

Severus felt his neck redden, and blood rushed lower as well.

Harry bit his lip.

"Was Dumbledore right? Do you really love me?"

"Would I let you call me Severus if I didn't?"

One side of Harry's mouth crept up.

"Are you going to stay here? I have to take Skelegrow, so I probably won't be able to sleep. I can get the Invisibility Cloak if you don't want any one to see you."

"What bone is missing?"

"An Auror tried to fix my wrist on the way up the stairs, but he said that the Killing Curse messed up my magic or something. So, are you going to stay?"

"I can't, Harry."

His face fell.

"Why not?"

"I have to go to the Dark Lord."

Harry's eyes widened.

"Why? Isn't he gone?"

"Do you need to see the Mark again, Harry?"

He shuddered.

"No."

"Harry, we need to keep a spy with the Dark Lord."

"Do you have to call him the Dark Lord?"

"It's a habit."

Harry bit his lip.

"Be careful, okay, Severus?"

"Always."

Snape stood up to leave. He couldn't move, and he turned around to see Harry holding on to his robes.

"Don't you dare try to leave without kissing me goodbye."

Snape was happy to oblige.

When they broke apart, Harry blushed bright red.

Dumbledore, Moody, all of the Aurors, Sirius, Lupin, Hermione, Ron and Ginny were there. Dumbledore was grinning, almost as if he planned it, but Hermione, Ron and Ginny looked horrified.

Harry grinned sheepishly.

"I guess I have some explaining to do?"

AN: I hope everyone liked this! Please review. I thrive on feedback. There's going to be a second chapter, and maybe a few after that that I will try to post soon. Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

It's Purely Carnal

Chapter Two

(AN: I realized after checking my timeline that it's rather messed up. Harry would not be at Hogwarts after the events of GOF, simply because the book ends at King's Cross. I'm imagining this as happening after the Triwizard Tournament, and after giving the money to Fred and George, but he was somehow still at Hogwarts. Maybe the events happened several months earlier? I was pleased to find out that Dumbledore already knew that Harry would live as long as Voldemort lived, so the events that have already happened make sense – sort of. This is what happens when I write dreams. I apologize. But hey, it's AU. There's also some Quidditch stuff mentioned later that simply wouldn't happen this year because of the Triwizard Tournament. I'm sure you all have lovely imaginations, please use them and don't hate me.)

"Don't go."

"I must. Work on calming your friends down; I'm sure they're terrified."

Harry frowned.

"I don't really see why."

One side of Snape's mouth twitched up.

"Oh, you don't?"

Severus shook his head slowly, still smiling slightly.

"I'm sure that after you talk to them you'll understand. Have fun. I really must go."

Harry sulked, but he couldn't stand to have Severus leave without saying goodbye. He pulled Snape back down for one more quick kiss, and watched him leave him the hospital wing. Right as he got to the door, Harry called out.

Snape saw him trying to get up and rushed back over. He frowned.

"Do you want to get better?"

"I'm fine."

Harry looked rather pained.

"I forgot something."

"You're not the one leaving, Harry."

Severus looked faintly amused.

"No, you are. And I love you."

Snape sighed heavily.

"You know I am not one for affection-"

"You don't have to say anything."

"Oh, but I do, or you'll sulk. I do love you, Harry, however infuriating you are."

Harry smiled slightly and watched Severus's hasty retreat. Then he looked at the large group of onlookers who had been watching their entire exchange. He sighed.

Hermione was the first one to venture over to him. She looked rather frazzled.

"Harry…I think I speak for all of us when I ask…what the hell is going on between you and Professor Snape?"

Harry looked over at Ron, whose eyes were still wide. Ginny looked murderous, and Harry grimaced. Hermione had obviously been woken up early, and had done nothing with her hair. It was a mess.

Harry smiled slightly.

"Well…we're together, I suppose."

Ginny burst into tears. Harry was a bit afraid of her at the moment. She still looked like she was ready to kill.

Ron tried to comfort Ginny, but she was having none of it. Ron looked lost at what to do. Hermione looked rather shocked as well.

"Harry…how long has this been going on?"

"Since before the tournament."

Obviously, they had been secretive; no one would have known at all if Voldemort hadn't messed everything up, just like always.

Ron couldn't seem to wrap his mind around this sudden change of perspective.

"But you hate the greasy git! You always have."

Harry frowned.

Ron couldn't seem to get the words to form right. They came out in a rush.

"Harry…you're not gay! You shower with the Quidditch team guys, and you make fun of those flaming shirt lifters just as much as everyone else does! I don't get it."

Harry sat up slowly.

"Too bad I am one of those 'flaming shirt lifters', huh, Ron?"

Ron scowled.

"Yeah, it's too bad! It would have been nice to know!"

Harry was fuming.

"Oh, really? So you could tell everyone in school and stop being friends with me? Are you that immature? Because I prefer men, everything else I've done is useless?"

"Well, it doesn't help that you're shagging Snape!"

Harry started rooting around for his wand, but Madam Pomfrey must have taken it. She also must have heard the shouts, because she peeked out of her office.

"Why does that matter?"

Ron looked at Harry as if he was an idiot.

"Because _you're shagging Snape_!"

Madam Pomfrey started to move towards the boys.

"I wouldn't care if you were shagging Hermione; what's the difference?"

Hermione looked up in alarm at her name.

Ron's eyes bulged, and for a moment, he couldn't speak. Madam Pomfrey seemed to be worried about his health.

"That's…that's a completely different example."

"Why, because she's a girl?"

"Well, yeah, and she's _Hermione_. Snape is…_Snape_."

Ron got his second wind.

"He's Snape, Harry, and it's gross!"

Harry tried to get up, but Madam Pomfrey pushed him back down.

"I think that's enough visitors for one day, and you need rest."

Both boys ignored her.

"Don't be a baby, Ron! Gross…You're an idiot!"

Ron started towards Harry, and pulled his wand out, but Madam Pomfrey blocked him.

"Ronald Weasley, get out of this room immediately!"

Someone cleared his throat. Everyone turned towards the sound. Dumbledore stood in the doorway.

"Thank you, Poppy; I'll talk to the boys now."

She frowned.

"Harry should rest; he's still quite weak."

"I'm fine!"

He tried to get up again, but Dumbledore put his hand on his chest.

"Don't make me call Severus, Harry."

His eyes were sparkling.

Harry refused to smile.

"He wouldn't come anyway. He's with 'the Dark Lord'."

"Oh, he would come if I informed him that Mr. Weasley finds your relationship 'gross'."

Ron paled.

"You wouldn't tell him that, would you?"

"That's up to Harry."

Now Harry smiled, but it was more of an evil smile that he had surely learned from Severus.

Ron sat down on a nearby bed heavily, already seeing Snape cursing him.

Dumbledore hid his smile behind his hand.

"Now, what seems to be the problem? I could hear your shouting from down the corridor."

"Nothing."

Dumbledore looked at Harry intently.

"Severus is going to be fine, you know."

How did Dumbledore do that? He cut straight to his deepest insecurities in a split second. He kept his face expressionless.

"I know that."

"Sure you do, Harry."

Dumbledore turned and took in the rest of the room's inhabitants.

"Miss Weasley, Miss Granger, I suppose that you may have cooler heads than Mr. Weasley?"

He seemed to notice that Ginny was crying for the first time.

"Miss Weasley, are you alright?"

She managed to nod. Ron muttered something under his breath.

"What was that, Mr. Weasley?"

Ron sat up a little straighter.

"It's all Harry's fault she's crying."

"Oh? And why is that?"

Harry sighed.

"He knows why."

"Miss Weasley? Maybe you would like to be alone for a while?"

Ginny knew when she was being asked to leave, and stood up.

"You may speak to Harry about this later."

She nodded and wiped her eyes. Ron watched her leave.

"Miss Granger, you may stay. You seem to be able to control your emotions."

She nodded.

Dumbledore turned to Ron.

"Mr. Weasley, I think it would be best for you to leave as well."

Ron pocketed his wand and walked out swearing.

Dumbledore sat down on the bed next to Harry.

"I must ask you a few questions, and then I will leave you to rest. What did you feel when Voldemort possessed you?"

Harry nodded slowly.

"I didn't feel anything. When I woke up, I had a really bad headache, but nothing more."

"Severus hasn't had time to tell me the full story yet, and I wish he had."

Dumbledore chuckled.

"You'll probably hear it before I will."

Harry bit his lip to keep from smiling.

"He also hasn't heard the whole story of what happened in the maze, even though I imagine that Voldemort confided most of the story in him. You will most likely tell him what happened then as well?"

Harry nodded again.

"As soon as he gets back."

"He'll be fine, Harry. Severus knows how to lie, and he knows how to make it sound real. Everything will be fine."

"I hope so."

Dumbledore looked towards the door. Harry watched him closely.

"Sirius wants to come and speak with you. He's upset. I told him the same thing I told Mr. Weasley – only cool heads will be able to see you."

"He's never going to accept me and Severus."

"Mr. Weasley or Sirius?"

"Both."

Hermione slowly walked over.

"Harry…I don't know about Ron, but I'm sure that Sirius will come around. He loves you, you know that."

"Yeah, I guess."

Dumbledore nodded, and gestured to Hermione to take a seat on the next bed.

"Harry, Mr. Weasley, if he can't accept you, isn't worth your time. But I believe he will come around, with time."

He stood.

"I will leave you, Harry. Once Severus comes back, I am sure that he will come to you first. Send him to me after that, if you could."

Harry smiled, and nodded.

Dumbledore swept out of the room. Both Hermione and Harry had nothing to say for a few minutes. Then Hermione looked up.

"Harry, I…whoever you want to sleep with, you're still Harry, and you're still my friend. But you have to explain better how you and Snape ended up together."

Harry grinned.

"You mean that?"

"Of course, Harry! It's like your scar – a little quirk that makes you unique."

Harry laughed.

"That's the most interesting comparison I've ever heard."

He shook his head.

She smiled.

"So…how did this all start?"

"In detention, of all places. Ginny had yelled at me for getting in trouble again, and I just vented. I kept getting in trouble, and eventually I realized that I liked talking to him. Severus isn't as mean as he seems, you just have to get to know him."

"How did you two…well, how did you start sleeping together?"

"I started it, amazingly enough."

Hermione's eyes widened.

"How?"

"It was every bit as comical and awkward as it sounds like it would be. I kissed him."

"Just…out of nowhere?"

"Yeah…"

Harry laughed, remembering it.

"What did he do?"

Hermione looked like she was worried for Harry's mental health.

"He kissed me back, after asking me what the hell I was doing. Then…well, it was late, and no one was around, and I might have begged a little…"

Harry shrugged, grinning.

Hermione laughed, but it was a nervous laugh.

"Wow…so, um…how long – before Professor Snape, I mean - were you…were you gay?"

"For a while. You kind of figure it out when a random guy kisses you in London and you like it."

He grinned.

"That's been nearly a year – it happened last summer – but I was thinking about it before then too."

Hermione shook her head slowly.

"Wow. I never would have guessed."

"I was going to tell you guys, I really was! But, well, I guessed that Ron would react like that."

"Ron was right…you do change with the Quidditch guys. How – how attractive is the team when they change?"

Hermione was obviously interested in his answer, and Harry grinned.

"It's completely unfair. They are all far too attractive. It's too bad Oliver graduated."

Hermione giggled slightly, but looked slightly like that wasn't the answer she wanted. She checked her watch.

"It's time for me to go back to bed if I want to be awake for classes tomorrow. I'll try to talk to Ron for you, if you want."

"You can try to talk to the bigot, but I doubt you'll get much out of him."

Hermione smiled lopsidedly, and left.

Harry sighed. He wasn't going to be able to sleep, he knew that. Madam Pomfrey would probably bring him a potion soon. He wouldn't be able to sleep normally until Severus was back and safe. He settled down under the covers to wait.

(AN: It was a little shorter than the last chapter, but I thought I'd update anyway. The next chapter will deal with Snape and Voldemort, and hopefully will be a little longer. I apologize for the messed up timeline, and I hope no one hates me for it. But come on, we're reading Snarry, for goodness sakes. What is canon about this? As always, read/review!)


	3. Chapter 3

It's Purely Carnal

Chapter Three

**(AN: Sorry for the long time between updates; school is torture. I beg you to review, like always, but I have something new for you guys. If you have a Twitter, follow me. I'll be tweeting updates about IPC whenever I can, and some random stuff as well. The name is HannahMCR. I can't post the link, because FF's weird. But it's your best shot at knowing when new chapters are coming up, and about any new projects I'm working on. Well, now Sev is back! Read on to see what happens…I was unsure of the mechanics of the Dark Mark, so I hope I got it right.)**

Severus looked for Voldemort. His Dark Mark was no help, since the Dark Lord seemed to be too weak to find a Death Eater to press his mark. Severus knew that pressing the Mark would only complicate things further, as the Death Eaters would surely all assemble. He had no real idea of where to look, but he checked the Hogwarts grounds and Voldemort's usual haunts first. He knew that the other Death Eaters were surely aware of the Dark Lord's success in gaining a new body, since they had been there, but he was unaware of how quickly the news of Voldemort's possession and near killing of Harry would spread.

Severus's Mark suddenly blazed. He checked it, and saw that it was pitch black. He Apparated, knowing that he would end up wherever the Dark Lord was.

It seemed to be a foreign country. Snape quickly came up behind the Dark Lord. He saw Wormtail, caressing his new silver hand, nearby. So that was how Voldemort had managed to contact Severus.

The Dark Lord seemed weak. When he spoke, his voice was nearly inaudible.

"Severus…I see you felt the Mark."

"Yes, my Lord. I was seeking you when it burned."

"Come here, Severus, where I can see you. I am…weak…but I have not lost my body."

Severus calmly cleared his mind and circled around to the front of the Dark Lord's chair. Why he kept outside, Snape didn't know. The Dark Lord looked near death, but Severus knew better. He would not die; he was too powerful for that. However, Severus…he was only so strong.

The Dark Lord looked up at Severus. Even in this position, weak, pale, and humbled by pain, he radiated power. But it came at a price. Snape could see the madness that always lurked behind his eyes. It was only increased after his brush with death. Nagini circled the back of the chair.

"Wormtail was able to locate me rather quickly. He knew of this haunt, and you didn't, Severus, so I suppose that is not your blunder, but mine."

Voldemort stroked Nagini's head.

"I must question you, Severus. This…relationship with the boy, along with what happened must be thought of differently now. I wonder…are you truly willing to do what I tell you to, no matter the price?"

Severus kept his head high.

"Yes, my Lord. I want nothing more than to serve you in any way I can."

"Would you kill Harry Potter, Severus? Would you be willing to watch the life leave his eyes, as I wish to see?"

"My Lord…"

Severus needed to tread carefully.

"I will do whatever you ask of me."

"Kill Harry Potter. Or, at the very least, bring him to me."

Voldemort signaled to Wormtail, who, despite the revulsion he felt at the Dark Lord, came.

"You must check up on Severus. I doubt his abilities to follow through on this matter."

A bit of the old Severus, the one who fought with Voldemort willingly and enjoyed it, came through. His head went higher, and a faint flush stained his cheeks.

Wormtail stuttered.

"My-my Lord, thank you."

"Do not thank me, Wormtail; just do what I tell you."

Severus's eyes flashed.

"My Lord, you doubt that I am able to do this? You have _Wormtail_ watch over me?"

"Wormtail is faithful, Severus, more faithful than I believe you to be."

"My Lord, I am always faithful. I will do anything you ask of me!"

Severus knew perfectly well what happened to Death Eaters who were unfaithful.

For a moment, Voldemort didn't speak. He touched his wand lightly, and with speed that Severus didn't know existed in such a broken body, cast the Cruciatus curse on Snape.

He writhed with pain. He was unable to shrug the curse off, and he could not attack the Dark Lord back, so did everything he could to avoid screaming.

The Dark Lord was merciless. He continued cursing Severus relentlessly.

"Severus, do you feel this? This is merely a taste of what will happen to you if you refuse to do what I say."

The glee in Voldemort's voice at causing pain was obvious.

When the curses finally stopped, Severus was weak and bloody. Wormtail, most likely on orders from his master, kicked him in the ribs. He, to his eternal shame, whimpered as one of his ribs cracked.

Voldemort smiled sadistically.

"I see you're going soft, Severus. Perhaps you are no longer of any use to me as a spy. You let your sexual desires bring you close to Harry Potter, and then not mention it to me. You contradicted my order when I asked Wormtail to watch over you. Are you worth it, Severus? You are becoming a liability instead of an asset. I can not keep liabilities. They must be done away with. I can't let you go again, Severus. This will become Lily Potter all over, but this time it is the one boy standing in my way of ultimate power instead of some Mudblood girl!"

Wormtail stood far away from the spectacle, watching Severus try to sit up. He had no doubt that Severus would die tonight. The Dark Lord was not known for his compassion.

Voldemort Accio'd Snape's wand, still in his chair.

"You're going to die here tonight, Severus, you know that."

Snape shook his head stubbornly.

"No, my Lord."

"The curses must have addled your mind, Severus. No one says no to me."

He Crucio'd Snape again, and this time, Severus didn't even try to hold back his scream.

"There is nothing you can do, Severus. Any one who could save you is far away. You are of no use to me. You must die, and you will die slowly."

Severus closed his eyes slowly. He knew that had very little chance of survival. Voldemort could still create powerful curses in his weakened state, and Severus had no wand. He tried wandless magic to Accio it back to him, but it was no use.

Voldemort grinned cruelly.

"You are going to try to fight back, aren't you, Severus? You always were too cocky, too sure of yourself. But you are going to die tonight, Severus! _Sectumsempra_!"

The irony of this spell was not lost on Severus.

"Your own spell being the one to kill you…How delicious…"

Severus closed his eyes tighter as he prepared to die. Harry filled his thoughts.

"I love you, Harry…"

His whisper faded away, and he became unconscious.

**(AN: Wow, that was intense. You guys don't get to know what happens until I get some more reviews! That's right, I'm going to leave you hanging. The two people who have reviewed so far are awesome, but I need to see some more. All of you have me on updates, so please take just a minute to tell me if you liked it or not. Please? Sorry this is so short. Think of it this way: while you are all busy reviewing, I can be writing a nice long chapter. Please review! I'm super proud of this chapter, and would love to hear what you all thought of it. Plus, I might not update if you don't tell me what you thought…You have to wonder how evil I really am.) **


	4. Chapter 4

It's Purely Carnal

Chapter Four

**(AN: As I'm writing this I have six reviews. That's pretty good, huh, guys? This chapter required a lot of thinking and a little bit of sleepless brainstorming, so I hope you like it. I did post an unrelated ficlet as well called Happy Birthday Severus and something called Femslash, or Breaking the Fourth Wall when I was feeling inspired, so if you'd all read those and review them that would be amazing. Both were just one-shots, so don't expect more chapters. IPC is my main priority, although I've been given a challenge by some friends to write a Voldemort/Snape. They so don't understand fanfiction. I hope you enjoy this chapter, and please review/add to alerts! It won't be the last.)**

Harry frowned. Something just didn't feel right. He shrugged it off, thinking it was just his injuries, but he called for Madam Pomfrey anyway. She handed him another potion, and he drifted off into a troubled sleep.

Dumbledore paced his study. He worried about Snape, and about Harry. He believed that Snape was okay, but why not check? He pulled out his clock, which similar to the one Molly Weasley kept, and paled.

Harry felt himself being shaken violently. As soon as Harry was awake, Dumbledore dropped the clock in his lap and Apparated away. Harry looked at it, puzzled. He noted that there were a large number of hands, most of who were in the 'home' or 'school' position. He noticed his hand was in 'hospital'. Then he looked towards the lone hand at the bottom of the clock.

'Severus Snape' was inscribed in flowing letters, and it was pointing to 'mortal peril'.

Harry immediately couldn't breathe. Severus, in mortal peril? It wasn't possible. He shook the clock, as if that would change things. When it didn't work, he tried to turn the hand back to the 'school' position, but all he got was a shock for his trouble. He stood up and rooted around for his wand, dressing with an utter lack of modesty while searching. He had to go get Severus. He understood the basic principles of Apparation; he could do – wait. He didn't know where Severus was.

This crushing reality made his knees weak, and he fell to the floor. One sob choked out before he managed to force himself to be rational. Dumbledore. He brought Harry the clock; obviously, he must know where Severus was. He probably had some kind of spell that told him where he was.

This thought, even at this inappropriate time, made him blush. Dumbledore had most likely known about Harry and Snape all along.

He shook his head to focus on the facts. He had no wand, no idea where his lover was, and no way to get there. He certainly wasn't going to sit here and wait – that would be torture.

The tears slowly running down his face distracted him, but he wiped them away violently.

On the good side – Severus was strong. And he had Dumbledore. Would he be able to pull through?

Harry immediately shut that line of thought down. He had to pull through – the opposing result was too unbearable, too impossible.

Harry knocked on Madam Pomfrey's door roughly. She opened it, and tried to shush him. He refused to be led back to the bed.

"Where is my wand, Madam Pomfrey, I need it!"

She frowned slightly.

"My dear, you are in no shape for magic. What is so pressing?"

He shoved the clock in her face, aware that he was quickly becoming hysterical.

"I have to go!"

Madam Pomfrey's mouth opened, and then shut. She sighed.

"Harry, you don't know where he is, dear."

The pet name was grating on his nerves.

"I have to do something!"

"Stay here and help me get potions and spells ready. Dumbledore will bring him here, I'm sure of that."

Poppy knew that there was actually very little work to be done, and that Harry would only slow her down, but she also saw the hysteria building in his eyes.

"I – I can't! I have to go find Severus! Now!"

"Harry, dear - !"

Harry shoved past her into the office. He threw her things around, looking for his wand. He was shocked that she didn't try to stop him, but when Minerva McGonagall showed up, he understood. She tried to reason with him, but he was past all rational thought. He needed his wand.

Finally, Professor McGonagall was fed up with him and cast a spell that bound his hands. She led him back to the bed, being swore at all the way.

"Harry, what is going on?"

Harry, due to his tantrum, was a bit of mess.

"Severus – he – Dumbledore's clock!"

Minerva looked to Poppy for clarification, and she gave her the clock. The stoic professor's mouth dropped. She tried to regain her calm, but Harry wasn't helping with all of the crying he was doing.

"Harry, there is nothing you can do; you must realize that! Dumbledore must be there now, and he will be doing everything he can."

She shook him by the shoulders.

"Harry!"

Madam Pomfrey handed her a sleeping potion to calm the hysterical Harry. After a quick struggle, the two women managed to pour the potion in his mouth. He fought it for as long as he could, but eventually he slept.

McGonagall stood. She unbound his hands and turned away.

Poppy came up behind her and placed her hand on the distressed teacher's shoulders.

"Minerva -"

"I am alright, Poppy."

She brushed past the matron.

"I must – I must do something."

"Minerva, there is nothing you can do. We have to trust that Albus will take care of Severus."

"Poppy…Severus in mortal danger. No wonder Harry's so shook up. He'll have to be kept on sleeping potion until we can find out what's going on."

"I have plenty."

Poppy wiped her eyes.

Both women exchanged goodbyes, and McGonagall went up to Dumbledore's office. She immediately contacted the Order, all of whom consented to come to Hogwarts at that moment. Sirius was still there, and she woke him. He got Remus while she filled in the Order members.

Dumbledore was a bit more nosy than he should be, and he kept a spell on Severus – without his consent or knowledge – that allowed him to find his location at any time. Such a spell would be nearly impossible for an average wizard, and even more difficult to keep it secret from a man like Severus, but Dumbledore was no average wizard. He had indeed used the spell before, and learned of Harry and Severus's closeness before they had revealed. He had suspected sexual encounters, but had no reason to believe them.

Dumbledore's thoughts raced as he looked for Severus. He came upon the area where Voldemort was torturing Snape. He cloaked himself with magic and waited for his moment.

"You are going to try to fight back, aren't you, Severus? You always were too cocky, too sure of yourself. But you are going to die tonight, Severus! _Sectumsempra_!"

Dumbledore watched blood spurt out of Snape's already damaged body and knew he had little time left. He had to act.

"Your own spell being the one to kill you…How delicious…"

Dumbledore heard Snape whisper something, and saw the subtle change in his body's posture as the man lost consciousness.

Voldemort seemed to be in no hurry to end it. He reclined in his chair, almost lazily. Dumbledore, hating himself for being a coward, attacked him from behind.

Predictably, there were wards around the Dark Lord, but he spun to see Dumbledore, who had dropped the spell.

"Ah, Dumbledore. Let me guess – you think your love can save Severus?"

Dumbledore did his best to remain relaxed.

"Hello, Tom. I believe Severus has a prior engagement; may I take him?"

The Dark Lord sneered.

"A prior engagement with Harry Potter's cock, which he will not be keeping. He now has an appointment with Death."

"Tom, Severus will not be dying tonight."

"Who's to say that? You, Albus? What if I decide that you are to die as well?"

Dumbledore smiled serenely, still relaxed.

"I don't think that is going to happen, Tom."

Voldemort attacked. Dumbledore blocked, but didn't have time to do anything more than that before the next spell came. The Dark Lord was fast. Albus was aging, and he was having trouble keeping up with this pace.

The battle was rough. Dumbledore focused on circling towards Severus. He had to fight both Wormtail and Voldemort, and both of them were circling. He dropped Wormtail early – nothing fatal, but painful – but Voldemort was better.

Albus managed to get near to Severus, but he knew that if he stopped fighting to grab Severus and Apparate out, he would be hit. Voldemort was throwing Dark curses, not all _Avada Kevadra_ but all dangerous.

He waited until he had a chance. A spell nearly hit Voldemort, and the disciplined wizard still instinctively ducked.

Albus grabbed Severus's hand and Apparated away.

Madam Pomfrey's scream brought all of the Order members back into the hospital wing. Both Albus and Severus lay on the floor. No one could tell if the men were unconscious or dead.

After her initial panic, Poppy went into business mode. She spelled the two into beds, being sure to put Severus near Harry, and checked their vitals. She gasped, and dropped her wand.

"Minerva!"

Poppy's shriek left no chance as to this news – it had to be bad. Minerva came over, fully expecting to see Severus's inert form, but Madam Pomfrey was in front of Albus's bed.

"No…"

It couldn't be.

Poppy, trying to remain calm, but quickly becoming hysterical, grabbed Minerva's arm.

"Albus – he's – he's dead!"

(AN: And, scene. This felt like a chapter ending, no? Please don't kill me. Also, if anyone has the link to the interview where JK Rowling told everyone Albus was gay (the video, please), leave a review. Leave a review if you don't have it! Please? *runs and hides from the Dumbledore fans that are surely cursing me out right now* Don't kill me!)


	5. Chapter 5

It's Purely Carnal

Chapter 5

**(AN: I know the end of the last chapter was kind of sad. I'm sorry, but it was a plot bunny that wouldn't leave me alone. This story needs some new labels. 'WARNING: Dumbledore dies.' This is labeled suspense, though, and I've always thought that warning labels and summaries took away from the story, so sorry. Also, I'm sorry that I killed Dumbledore off. But you never know what might happen. Here's the new chapter, and I hope you like it! Someone also mentioned that you can't Apparate into Hogwarts, which I totally forgot about. I'm thinking that it was Dumbledore, so he's special. Just wanted to make that clear and sorry for the inaccuracies. This really isn't canon.)**

Harry drifted into consciousness slowly. He had to think for a minute to figure out what had happened.

When it hit him, he jumped up. His eyes lit on Severus. He wasn't able to keep his grin away. He tried to shake Severus awake, but was discouraged when he didn't move. Slowly beginning to panic, he checked if he was breathing. He was, but why wasn't he waking up?

He stumbled over to Madam Pomfrey's door, still weak from the sleeping draft. He knocked on it heavily.

She stumbled out, eyes red and dressed all in black. He frowned. Severus was alive. Who was she mourning?

"Madam Pomfrey? What's the matter?"

She burst into tears, and led him back to the bed. He was too bewildered to follow her as she left the hospital wing. Harry sat on Severus's bed and watched him breathe. If he wasn't dead…

McGonagall burst in. She too was dressed in black, and she looked more somber than usual. She took a seat in the high-backed chair that was next to Severus's bed.

"Harry…I'm not sure how to tell you this."

She sighed heavily, and her stoic personality dropped. She leaned back in the chair. She glanced down at Severus with such resentment that Harry felt like he needed to protect him, despite the absurdity of that.

"Albus…is dead."

Harry's mouth dropped.

It simply wasn't possible. Dumbledore, dead? Dumbledore couldn't die, he was…Dumbledore!

His doubts must have showed on his face, because she sighed.

"He went to fetch Severus, and during the fight with Voldemort, he was hit with an unknown Dark spell."

The way she spoke it was obvious she was blaming Severus.

Harry was indignant.

She shushed him.

"I am aware that it isn't Severus's fault, but it is hard to remember. He is going to have a rough time when he wakes."

"Professor, why won't he wake?"

Harry felt bad that he wasn't able to focus on Dumbledore's death, but his true love was still here. He knew his priorities.

She threw her hands up.

"Poppy can't figure it out. She tried all the spells, and he simply won't wake. She says that we simply have to wait and see."

Harry shook. To have Severus back and then to have him die anyway? Especially now that Dumbledore had given his life for him, it would be unbearable.

Minerva noticed, and her face softened. She was a teacher, and she had an ingrained personality trait to comfort students who were in this much pain.

"Severus is strong, Harry. You didn't see his injuries, but he's lucky to have survived that at all. He'll pull through, I'm sure of it."

She stood wearily.

"I must go, Harry. There are…preparations to be made."

"Professor? Are you…the headmaster now?"

Her face shut down.

"Harry, I don't know. No one knows anything at the minute."

She sighed.

"Sirius wants to see you. You need a guard anyway, so he'll be here any minute."

Harry nodded and watched her leave. The reality, the finality, or Dumbledore's death hit him. He sat down, careful not to crowd Severus. He touched his forehead lightly. Severus looked like he was sleeping and breathed as if he was sleeping, so why wouldn't he wake up?

"Severus?"

Sirius came in at the same minute Harry was kissing Snape's cheek, but, to his credit, he waited to yell until he got all the way across the room.

"What are you doing? Dumbledore is dead, and you're sitting here kissing Snape?"

Suddenly, all the events of late caught up with Harry. He turned away from Sirius and wiped his eyes. He fisted his hands in his hair and shut his eyes tightly. The tears squeezed out, despite his best efforts, and suddenly he was sobbing.

Sirius was at a loss for what to do. As angry as he was at Harry, he was still his godson. He awkwardly patted Harry's shoulder. Harry turned away roughly. Sirius frowned. This was the influence Snape had on his godson. Sirius was sure that Harry would never act like this if it wasn't for Snape.

Harry sat on his bed, sobbing quietly. Dumbledore was dead, Severus might never wake up, and Sirius and Ron were mad at him. Why couldn't he have a normal life? He was the Boy who Lived and he had to be gay on top of that? And he had to fall in love with Severus, who had been a Death Eater, despite his current position as spy. Fate was messing with him; it always had been. His life was a big cosmic joke.

Sirius put his arm on Harry's shoulder, and this time Harry didn't pull away.

Sirius stood behind his godson quietly, waiting for him to cry himself out.

Slowly Harry regained control. As soon as he stopped crying, he pushed Sirius's arm off him, and moved back to Severus's bed. He touched his lover's brow lightly, and a left over tear fell on the long hooked nose.

Sirius grimaced. Harry happened to look up and see him. His eyes flashed.

Harry pushed off the bed and advanced towards Sirius. He checked his pockets and swore loudly when he realized Madam Pomfrey still had his wand.

Sirius grimaced again. When had his godson, who had always seemed to him to be the perfect child, become this boy – the one who swore and fucked Snape, and threatened to curse Sirius? It was crazy. He backed up slowly as Harry advanced towards him.

Harry moved close to Sirius. "What is wrong with you? You think that I'm not sad Dumbledore's dead? I wish he were still alive. Still, if Severus dies too, everything is gone. Severus is _everything_ to me; can't you understand and accept that? I don't care if you hate him, even though I think your school feud has gone on too long, but can't you at least make an effort to be civil? For me?"

Sirius's mouth opened, and then shut. He closed his eyes and sighed. "Harry…you're my godson. I want the best for you; you know that. You're James and Lily's –"

"But I'm not like them; am I? I'm Harry. You can't handle that; can you? I look like James, but I'm fucking Severus; so that ruins everything. I've got Lily's eyes, but I'm fucking Severus; so nothing else matters. Is that it, Sirius?" Harry's eyes flared frighteningly, and Sirius took a step back. He hit the wall, and readied his wand – he wouldn't put it past Harry to send a wandless spell at him; he certainly had the power.

"Harry, you know that I'll always love you-"

"Not enough. You don't love me enough to put away a stupid hatred of a man you didn't even bother to get to know. He's changed since you two fought; he has! And I love him, Sirius, so if you want to be around me, you have to be around him. Make a choice."

There was a slight noise in the background, and Harry spun around.

Without opening his eyes, Severus sighed. "Don't fight with the mutt, Harry."

Harry ran over to him. He cried Severus's name, but the Potions master seemed to have fallen back into his coma.

Sirius watched as Harry's head dropped onto the bed, and he began to whisper something. Sirius found himself moving closer unconsciously to hear what he was saying.

"He's alive. Please wake up, Severus. Oh god, he's alive."

Harry repeated it like a mantra, and Sirius felt the emotion that he assumed all parents felt – like he would do everything he could for this child. If it meant being civil to Severus…well, he might be able to do it. But he certainly wasn't going to mention that to Harry.

He watched the whirlwind of healers that appeared to check on Severus. He tried to suppress his chuckle at Madam Pomfrey's indignation at the suggestion that she was unable to take care of her patients, but she glared at him anyway.

Harry saw Sirius's smile, and along with Severus's breakthrough, he thought that everything might just be all right. He stood next to his lover's bed all night, refusing to sleep; waiting for Severus to wake and speak again.

Sirius stayed with him, even if he was rather tired and bored. When Harry finally fell asleep on his feet, Sirius laid him down next to Severus and left him.

**(AN: Sorry it's been so long since I posted, and I'm sorry this is short. Having some internet troubles and writer's block, but I think everything is fixed now. Chapters should be coming more frequently than once a week, and I'll work on it. Homework for a sophomore with chemistry and world history is tough, you know. The next chapter should contain at least one big revelation, or maybe two. I'll try to get it posted – and written – as soon as possible. Please review if you liked!) **


	6. Chapter 6

It's Purely Carnal

Chapter 6

**(AN: Some drunkenness later in this chapter (underage) and mentions of bondage and underage drug use. (The drunkenness is extremely funny, at least to me.) Harry is no angel. Severus and Harry's relationship is going to be developed a little more in this chapter, despite the fact that Sev is still in a coma. You'll see. Harry also seems a little OC later on, but he is drunk. Who knows what he'd be like?)**

Harry stood, straight-backed, near the big white tomb. He listened to the service the short wizard was giving, and had the absurd thought that Albus would have hated this, because it was far too dry and somber. He would have wanted people laughing and remembering, not crying.

He had spent one long, agonizing day in the hospital wing watching Severus closely. He didn't wake or make any more noise, but all of the healers were more optimistic of his chances now that he had woken. Sirius spent the day hovering around the school, unsure of what to do. He tried to help with the funeral arrangements, but he was rather useless. He ended up in Hagrid's pumpkin patch smoking Muggle cigarettes. He had become a sort of novelty to the younger students.

Harry watched as Dumbledore's tomb was sealed and moved to the spot where it would rest forever. There was a plaque that some journalist had written about how Dumbledore was a hero and how this would all work out in the end – it all felt rather fake. Harry hadn't shown his grief, but he had done his best to commit Dumbledore to memory so he could tell everyone what a wonderful man he was. His testimony would be true, not from a man who seemed to know nothing about Dumbledore.

After the ceremony, people started to disperse. Most headed to the Great Hall for a dinner, but Harry couldn't handle that many people. He tried to get back in to see Severus, but Madam Pomfrey thought it was unhealthy for him to spend so much time there. He wandered, lost, until he saw Sirius.

He was back in the pumpkin patch, smoking Muggle fags again. Harry sat on a big pumpkin next to Sirius and waited, watching him smoke, enthralled with the way it looked.

"Can I try one?"

Sirius frowned down at Harry.

"No."

"When did _you_ start smoking?"

Sirius flushed. He had smoked before he was Harry's age; that was for sure.

Harry noticed, and chuckled slightly. He seemed to notice for the first time that both he and Sirius were sitting in a pumpkin patch in tuxes, but he shrugged it off. "So do I get to try one or not?"

Sirius shrugged. "It's not like you already haven't done worse things."

He lit a cigarette and handed it to Harry.

"You'll cough the first time."

Harry watched Sirius take a drag and imitated him. He coughed heavily and tried it again.

They sat in silence for a while; Sirius smoking and Harry just holding his cigarette.

Suddenly Harry looked up at Sirius again. "What did you mean by worse things?"

Sirius's cheeks reddened and he took another drag to prolong his answer. "Well…You're not a virgin."

Harry looked down, reddening. He tried another drag of his cigarette, but he just didn't like it. "I don't wanna talk about that."

Sirius nodded, relieved. He really didn't want to talk about that either. "I have to ask one thing first…"

Harry nodded. "Shoot."

"Have you ever done…_that _with anyone else?"

Harry blushed. "Call it what it is."

"Sex." Sirius flushed.

"Um…"

Sirius groaned. "Please tell me you are going to say no."

"Do you want me to lie?"

Sirius chuckled nervously. "Out with it."

"He was a Muggle…"

"Oh god."

"It was in a club…"

"How do you get into clubs?" Harry was only sixteen. Sirius sighed deeply."There's a club nearby that lets me in. I seem old for my age."

"Who?" Sirius didn't want to know the answer.

"Ummm…" Harry looked rather abashed.

Oh no. "_Please _tell me you know his name."

Harry rubbed his neck. "No."

Sirius groaned. "I need a drink."

"Can I have one?"

Sirius sighed. "Is that why you don't know his name?"

"Yeah, I was drunk."

"What does Snape know about this?"

"All of it."

"Why don't _I_ know any of this?" Sirius lit another cigarette, and smiled when Harry just flicked his to the ground.

Harry shrugged.

Sirius stood and started walking back to the castle. Harry trailed behind. He stuck his head into the hospital wing, but barely had time to look at Severus before Madam Pomfrey shooed him away. He caught up with Sirius, crestfallen.

Sirius snuck into the kitchen, hoping to avoid house elves. He heard a loud crack, and Harry shouted.

"Shh, sir, it's only Dobby. Both Harry Potter and his godfather look quite dashing today."

Sirius sighed, and looked down at his increasingly wrinkled tux. "Hello, Dobby. Would you happen to know if you've got anything to drink?"

Dobby nodded, his eyes wide. "To drink, sir? Anything for Harry Potter and his godfather. We have pumpkin juice, milk, water-"

"No, something stronger." Why was everything so difficult?

Dobby's eyes, always large, now widened astronomically. He peeked over at Harry. His voice took on a reproachful tone. "Dobby shouldn't, sir. Harry Potter shouldn't drink spirits, or even be exposed to them, sir."

Harry rolled his eyes, and Sirius suppressed a chuckle. Dobby glared.

Harry giggled. "Dobby, can't you just give Sirius something strong? I promise you're not showing me anything I don't know."

Dobby frowned. "Anything for Harry Potter." He snapped his fingers and handed Sirius a bottle of vodka.

Sirius took it and grabbed Harry's arm. He waved to Dobby and wondered briefly if he ought to be going to class, but dismissed the idea on the spot.

Dobby watched the two go, and shook his head. He snapped his fingers and disappeared.

Harry was pulled along. Sirius led him back out to the area of Hogwarts' grounds near Dumbledore's tomb. Harry thought it was a bad place to get drunk, but he wasn't going to complain.

Sirius sat down and immediately took a pull of the vodka. Harry waited for Sirius to offer him the bottle. He was quite a fan of vodka. He frowned as Sirius took a second sip, and snatched the bottle out of his hands. Sirius started.

"Oi! Who said you could have any?"

"I like vodka."

Harry took a sip and enjoyed the rush down his throat.

Sirius sighed heavily. "Where did I go wrong? You drink, you've had sex…I suppose you've done drugs too?"

Harry grinned sheepishly. "Do you want an answer to that?"

Sirius groaned and stole the vodka back. "Lily would kill me."

"What about James?"

Sirius finished his swallow of vodka, and Harry stole the bottle. "James? He'd probably think it was funny."

"Did he do all the 'bad' stuff I do?"

"Well, he wasn't gay."

Harry chuckled and handed Sirius the vodka back. "Obviously."

"Other than that, basically. He was a big fan of marijuana."

"That stuff's killer."

"Snape lets you do drugs?"

Harry giggled. "Sirius, what do you think he does; leave me chained to his bed all day? I do have a life outside of him."

Sirius grumbled. "I wouldn't put it past him."

The vodka always had a soothing affect on the young wizard, and he couldn't help but giggle at Sirius's angry demeanor. "Sirius! It's a perfectly healthy relationship."

Vodka loosened Sirius's tongue. "You're saying that Snape doesn't get off by tying you up?"

Harry blushed slightly and stole the vodka back. "That's none of your business."

"Ah, so you like it too. Whatever you enjoy, I suppose." Sirius snatched the bottle out of Harry's hands.

"Hey!" Harry giggled.

"So, what's the git's idea of a romantic evening?"

Harry blushed. "Why all the curiosity?"

"I'm drunk, Harry. Don't expect it to last. Answer the question, come on."

"Severus…isn't the affectionate type." Harry grabbed the vodka, but nearly dropped it.

"You're saying he enjoys a good fucking?" Sirius dodged Harry's fist.

"Well, yes, but I meant that he's not good with words and romantic gestures. Generally that's my area of expertise." Harry grinned.

"So you write him love letters and such?"

Harry groaned. "No! I'm not _that_ gay."

"Just gay enough to fuck men, I see." Sirius grabbed the small bottle back and noticed that most of the small container was empty. "You can really hold your liquor."

"Sirius, I drink." Harry chuckled. "I'm used to it."

"Does Snape drink?" Sirius chucked the bottle. He attempted to have it hit a tree, but the liquor affected his aim.

"Yep." Harry attempted to smooth his tie, but gave the whole suit up as a loss. "He's more of a whiskey fan, though. I like vodka."

Sirius leaned in, grinning. "I have another question – of a rather personal nature."

Harry groaned. "Think before you speak."

Sirius shook his head. Drink made him lewd. "When you and Snape fuck…who tops?"

Harry put his head in his head, laughing. "Someone's curious!"

"Oi, it's a decent question! Answer it, come on!" Sirius was rather offended that Harry was laughing at him. The absurdity didn't register with him.

Harry could barely breathe. "Sirius, are you sure you don't have some repressed sexual feelings?"

Sirius refused to jump at the bait. "Answer the question!"

Harry regained composure, or at least as much composure as a sixteen year old drunk boy with a red face can regain. "Most of the time, he does. I do too, though."

The alcohol was catching up with both of them now, and it was a miracle that they could be understood at all.

Sirius sighed, and lay back, looking at the sky. Harry lay back next to him.

They watched the clouds. It was made slightly more interesting by the drunken comments both of them interjected.

"That cloud looks like a cock."

"I told you that you had suppressed sexual feelings."

"Fuck off; you're the gay one here."

"I wish we had some more vodka."

"We could go steal Severus's whiskey."

"So he can curse me and fuck you into a wall? I don't think so."

"Is fucking me into a wall supposed to make me scared? 'Cause it just turns me on."

"Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"You really would enjoy being fucked into a wall?"

"Do you like getting head?"

"…Point taken."

"Not that you've had that in years. I have a better sex life than you do."

"Fuck off."

About ten minutes after the vodka had gone, Harry looked up and squinted. He was still drunk, so everything looked weird. But he thought he saw someone.

"Sirius?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think Dobby poisoned the vodka?"

"Why? I wouldn't put it past the little bugger."

"I'm hallucinating."

"What do you see?"

"Dumbledore."

Sirius sat up. "I see him too."

Harry sat up and reached out towards him. His hand went right through Dumbledore's leg. "I can't touch him."

The Dumbledore-apparition's eyes twinkled. "Generally, you can't touch ghosts, Harry."

Sirius shook his head. "This has to be an allusion. The little fucker poisoned the vodka."

Dumbledore's mouth twitched. "What is it about ghosts that shock you? Aren't you two wizards? There are ghosts in Hogwarts, and now there is one more."

Sirius and Harry exchanged looks. Their thinking capacity wasn't at its highest, but that seemed to almost make sense.

Then McGonagall showed up.

The normally stoic teacher's mouth dropped. "Albus…?"

Dumbledore had not lost his ability to twinkle infuriatingly. "Minerva, close your mouth. Something will fly in."

She obeyed, but spluttered. "Albus…what – what are you doing here? I mean, you – you're in that coffin!" She realized what she had just said, and her eyes widened.

"What is it about wizards and witches today that causes them to have problems accepting ghosts?" Dumbledore seemed to be enjoying being a ghost. He floated back and forth, grinning at the three observers.  
Minerva frowned at Harry and Sirius. "I would say as far as Mr. Potter and Mr. Black go that they are quite intoxicated and have some problem understanding anything at the moment."

Sirius grinned sheepishly. "How can you tell?"

"Even if you are intoxicated and unaware, Mr. Black, other people can smell vodka all over you. And Mr. Potter."

Harry flushed. "Am I in trouble?"

McGonagall, now unsure of who was headmaster and who wasn't, nodded. "Mr. Potter, you are sixteen and drunk on Hogwarts premises. I imagine you are in great trouble. Let's get you to the hospital wing to sober up." She turned to Dumbledore. "Albus, will you come along and we can get everything sorted out?"

He nodded and began to float up to the castle. McGonagall got Sirius and Harry up to the castle, and Madam Pomfrey gave them a potion to put them to sleep, and it would also stop a hangover from forming. Before Harry fell asleep, he snuck over to Severus's bed and lay down, thinking that all he needed was for Severus to wake up to be happy.

**(AN: I hope you liked this chapter, because it was my favorite so far. Review please! I'll try to get an update soon. Just thought you'd like to know that I left off the cliffhanger I was originally planning, so that's why the ending's kinda boring. I figured you'd all like that better than giving a big revelation before not being able to post for a few days. And to all my Dumbledore fans, I brought him back! I hope you all love me for that. The next chapter will deal with Sev, I promise. And the beginnings of a stronger bond are coming between Harry and Sirius. That's important. Hope you enjoyed, and please review! EDITED 7/8/2011 to fix Harry's age to coincide with later chapters – changed fourteen to sixteen.)**


	7. Chapter 7

It's Purely Carnal

Chapter 7

**(AN: Sorry for the slow post; school is kicking my ass. But you all have to love me. Just wait and see. And there's a bit more sexual innuendos later on. And a minor sex scene, but I am not a PWP writer, so it's not super explicit. I'm debating moving this down to T. I hope you enjoy, and please review if you favorite or you will get a PM from me asking for your opinion. XD I changed what I was originally planning for this story, so updates may be slow while I scramble. Thanks.)**

Dumbledore, now thoroughly enjoying being a ghost by floating through walls, floated through the door to the hospital wing and stopped near Severus. The man just wouldn't wake up. It was a strange phenomenon, and Dumbledore expected more of the steadfast, strong professor. Dumbledore watched as Madam Pomfrey, distressed by the man's inability to wake up, shoved Harry out of Severus's bed yet again. Harry frowned and moved to the bed next to him. Sirius was leaning against the wall, smiling.

Dumbledore had come to punish Harry for his drinking exploit with Sirius, but if he was honest with himself, he didn't think Harry needed punishment. The boy had obviously been drinking before, or he wouldn't have been able to hold a half bottle of vodka with so little effect. However, now that he was for all purposes headmaster again, he must punish students who break the rules. He sighed.

"So, Harry, my boy-"

Sirius interrupted. "Don't be too harsh; I did give him the vodka."

Dumbledore nodded sagely. "I'm aware of that fact, and I also can tell that Harry must have been drinking before. I'm not unfamiliar with vodka, and I know that you are not either."

Harry grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, I've drank in clubs before. And Severus gives me stuff too, although it's usually whiskey."

"Severus drinks whiskey?" Madam Pomfrey cocked her head.

Harry grinned. "He drinks everything. The last time he confiscated sherry from Professor Trelawney, he drank it."

"And I thought that you would keep that a secret. If I remember correctly, you drank some of it too."

All heads spun toward Severus. He was sitting up in bed looking rather smug.

Harry made a sort of strangled noise and ran towards Severus. He kissed him full on the mouth.

There was a rather awkward moment where Sirius, Madam Pomfrey and McGonagall tried to avoid looking at the passionate lovers kiss, and Dumbledore just enjoyed the sight of their discomfort. Eventually Sirius cleared his throat, and Severus got the picture, breaking the kiss.

Harry couldn't believe the evidence that was right in front of him. Severus Snape – Harry's true love – was awake and alive! He couldn't stop touching Severus, just running his hands over him, just to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

Snape tolerated this for about thirty seconds before he grabbed Harry's hands in his own. "Harry, I am not going to disappear. Kindly stop."

Harry grinned sheepishly. "Sorry."

Severus's eyes softened nearly imperceptibly, but Harry was used to watching the man. Snape kissed Harry's cheek softly, and he smiled. "It's quite alright. This must be a shock for you."

The dark haired teen chuckled. "Of course. What happened to you?"

The older man smiled. "I honestly don't know. But I would imagine it had something to do with the extensive torture I suffered."

Harry suddenly realized he was sitting on Severus's lap, and how painful – and embarrassing – that must be for the injured wizard. He moved, but only succeeded in realizing how aroused the Potions master was. He leered.

Severus tried to keep the smile off his face. "Careful, there is a member of your family here."

Harry shot a look at Sirius, who did look rather less than happy, and moved off Severus. He did not leave the bed.

Severus now failed to keep his smile away. "Not that I found it…unappealing."

"Obviously." Harry grinned.

"Okay, that's enough of the awkward love fest." Sirius came up behind Harry. He looked down at Snape's lap and grimaced. "Or the awkward sex fest."

Harry's mouth dropped open at how frank Sirius was, but all Severus did was smirk and pull the blanket over his lap. "As if you wouldn't gain an erection with the object of your sexual desires writhing around on your lap."

Harry leaned over and whispered in Severus's ear. "I was not 'writhing'."

Severus whispered back. "Oh, but you were. And it was quite alright with me."

Harry chuckled.

Sirius had stopped gaping by this point.

Instead, he started laughing.

He had heard Snape and Harry's whispered conversation, and, along with Snape's comment, it all seemed incredibly funny all of a sudden. Suddenly he couldn't stop laughing.

Severus gaped. He and Harry exchanged a glance. Sirius was laughing at something Snape had said – and it wasn't directed at Snape.

Sirius saw their faces and laughed even harder.

Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey also looked quite shocked. Sirius had never hid his hatred for the Potions master, and to be laughing at something he said – especially when it was about sexual desire for his godson – seemed completely out of character.

Dumbledore was smiling along; happy Sirius was finally accepting Severus.

Sirius finally managed to calm down long enough to form words. "Snape, sometimes I think you just might be human."

Harry was shocked. Sirius being nice to Severus? It was a miracle.

Severus was at a loss for words. All he could do is nod. Eventually he snapped out of it and cleared his throat. "Thank you…Sirius."

Harry's mouth dropped farther. Maybe Severus was willing to be nice to Sirius.

Sirius looked a little pained, but he nodded. "Um…I think I'm willing to…attempt to…be nice for Harry's sake…Severus."

Harry grinned.

Severus smiled back at Harry, and even tentatively at Sirius. "I think we can do that, for his sake."

Harry looked back and forth at the two most important men in his life – for different reasons, obviously. He was thrilled that they were finally going to try to get along. Harry hugged Severus around the neck, and then reached over to hug Sirius.

Dumbledore clapped slowly. "Bravo, you two! May I ask about the sudden change in heart?"

Sirius shrugged. "It was funny."

Severus smirked. "And it's important to Harry."

Dumbledore twinkled. "Well, you've made a big step. I'm sure Harry is quite happy."

Harry did look thrilled.

Dumbledore smiled. "Severus, I imagine Poppy will let you return to your quarters tonight."

Harry and Snape exchanged a quick glance.

Dumbledore stared at Harry. The boy started to shift under the ghostly eyes – they hadn't lost their intensity. "Do not get caught, Harry. And have fun." The ghost turned away and floated off.

Harry's mouth dropped open. Severus shot a look at Harry and rearranged the blankets on his lap. Sirius closed his eyes and sighed.

"I…really need another drink." Sirius stood up and walked out. He nodded to McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey absently. Minerva sighed, and followed him out; surely to tell him to stay out of the vodka. Madam Pomfrey sent a disapproving look at the two men left, and shuffled back to her office. Severus and Harry were left alone.

Harry chuckled. "That was a bit much to throw on Sirius so early on, wasn't it?"

Severus smirked. "He might as well get used to it. I intend to have you in my bed as often as possible. Wouldn't want him to be shocked."

Harry blushed slightly. "Severus!"

He grinned. "Well, I do. I don't intend to lie to you."

"What will Dumbledore say?"

"He'll be amused."

"The parents will have you fired."

"You've got plenty of money in Gringotts for the both of us, if it comes to that." Severus peered close at Harry. "Why the sudden hesitation, Harry? It's not like it would be your first time with me."

Harry shuffled his toe on the ground. "Well…people know now, and they're not all happy about it, so we should be…discreet."

"No one said we had to stop being discreet, Harry. If you don't wish to share my bed, simply say so." Severus let no emotion show.

"No!" Harry was shocked. "No, that's not it at all!" He shot a quick look back at Madam Pomfrey's office and lowered his voice. "I want to, Sev, I do!" He kissed him hard.

Severus kissed him back firmly. When he pulled away, both of them were breathing heavily. "Wait here." Harry shuddered at his voice, filled with desire. Snape stood up and walked to the back office. He knocked and waited for Madam Pomfrey.

"Severus, you should be in bed." She glared.

"Perhaps. But I will be returning to my rooms. I do not require the hospital wing any longer."

She shot a look at Harry, still breathing heavy, and watched as Severus did his best to keep his robe from showing his erection. "Severus-"

"I will be leaving no matter your response."

She glared. He stared back. Eventually she turned around and slammed the door in his face.

Severus smirked. He walked back over to his bed and quickly grabbed the clothes that had been placed there for him. He drew the curtains and dressed, letting Harry stay inside the room formed by the dividers.

Snape left the curtains, pulling Harry along by his wrist. Harry did not resist. Severus tried to avoid people, but he did pass a few students. Harry saw from their faces that they expected him to be in trouble, and that they had a hard time reconciling that with the men's visible erections. He was going to have a lot of explaining to do.

Harry never got used to how tender Severus was. Their first time, Harry had been incredibly worried, simply because Severus seemed the type to be rough. But he had been incredibly careful and sweet, and he only did what Harry wanted. This time was no different.

When they got into the Potions master's bedroom, Harry sighed happily. It had been too long since he and Severus had been together to do this. He shut his brain off, and happily kissed Severus back. He found himself slowly being undressed, and he reveled in the smooth skin he uncovered as he undressed Severus in return.

Severus was always surprised by how forceful Harry could be, once he got comfortable. Snape was by nature a dominant person, and sometimes the two of them would clash. However, today everything went smoothly.

When they had finished, Harry sighed. Severus kissed him deeply and he tasted his own come on Severus's tongue. He smiled through the kiss.

When they finally broke apart, Severus grabbed the blanket off the floor and wrapped the two of them up in it.

Harry chuckled.

"What?"

"Didn't you see Hannah and Justin's faces on the way here? They know exactly what we were doing. I'm going to have a lot of explaining to do."

Severus smirked. "You've got enough magical power to make them go away."

"They're my friends!" Harry smacked Severus's arm playfully.

"I'm sure." Severus rolled back on top of Harry. "Now, you and I have some more catching up to do, Harry."

Harry shuddered and nodded, leaning up to kiss his lover again.

**(AN: Yay! I'm posting. XD I completely changed what I wanted to happen in this story after about a paragraph, so if you want to see that, just tell me and I'll post it at the beginning of the next chapter. As fluffy as this chapter was, all is not over for Harry and Severus, nor will it be all fluffy happiness. These guys have some trials ahead. But I had to give them a sweet reunion scene. Hope you enjoyed this, and please review! EDITED 7/8/2011 to fix an odd sentence.)**


	8. Chapter 8

It's Purely Carnal

Chapter 8

Harry and Severus were awakened by a knocking at the door. They looked at each other. Neither was dressed. Severus quickly stood up and dressed in the first things he found, while Harry opted to sink back into the bed.

Snape opened the door and tried to step out, but Minerva McGonagall shoved her own way inside. Ms. Granger followed her, although she immediately blanched and backed out as soon as she saw Harry naked in Snape's bed. McGonagall frowned.

"Really, Severus? It's barely four. Were you not planning on teaching any time in the near future?" She glared down at Severus, but gave that up as a lost cause and glared at Harry instead.

Snape searched his mind. "Ah, the teacher's meeting." While he had been excused from teaching for the next day, Dumbledore had never excused him from that. He had forgotten all about it in the rush with Harry.

"Yes, before dinner. I expect to see you in Dumbledore's office in the next ten minutes. Harry, you should return to your common room. I am sure your friends are wondering where you are."

Harry hesitated, and McGonagall saw it. "For Merlin's sake, you'll see Severus at dinner in less than an hour. Go!" Harry didn't move. "Mr. Potter, go!"

Snape interceded. "Minerva, Harry cannot leave until you vacate the room so he may dress."

She visibly scrambled. "Ah. Well, ten minutes, Severus." She left the room. "Ms. Granger, come along."

Harry laughed. "Well, that will be an interesting conversation."

"Yes…" Snape sighed. "I need to take a shower."

Harry grinned, but didn't have a chance to say the surely erotic thing that was about to come out of his mouth. Severus cut him off.

"If I want to be ready in ten minutes, I simply don't have time for anything of a…physical nature."

Harry nodded, smiling at his lover's phrasing. "I'll go, then."

"Perhaps after dinner, you might…come back." Severus watched Harry stand, and as much as he tried not to, dress.

"Of course." Harry found his boxers, and Severus watched as he pulled them on.

"Good…" The boy had found his T-shirt, and it didn't hide the mark Severus's teeth had left on his neck. Harry shuddered in pleasure as he touched it, and Snape had to close his eyes.

He pulled his jeans on quickly. He leaned down over Severus and gave him a quick kiss. Both obviously wanted more, but there simply wasn't time.

Harry bit his lip. "Love you."

Snape nodded. "And I you."

Severus was not a man to express love in words, and Harry knew it. He knew that Snape felt love for him, whether he could say it or not. He kissed him quickly and left the room.

The Potions master sighed, and went for a quick shower.

Before he swept into Dumbledore's office, he noticed his hair was still wet. He dried it quickly with a spell. He supposed he could have just used a spell to clean himself, but it never was the same as a shower – and it certainly didn't have the erotic appeal.

He realized it was more than ten minutes past the time he was supposed to be at Dumbledore's office, so he hurried in. Judging by the looks he got, McGonagall had gossiped. He sat down and looked at Dumbledore.

"Thanks for joining us, Severus." His eyes twinkled.

"I apologize for being late, Albus." He stared back at the other teachers who had obviously been gossiping before he came in.

"That's alright, Severus. I expected as much." The man – now a ghost, Severus thought – twinkled infuriatingly. The meddling bastard.

"I see."

"Don't be upset, Severus; just tell me what you have planned for classes."

As Severus talked, he noticed Trelawney was not there. Too bad. She always gave the comic relief – not on purpose, but Severus always laughed. Especially if she was drunk.

!*!*!*!

Harry walked up to Gryffindor tower slowly. He dallied in the hope that it would be time for dinner before he saw the rest of the Gryffindors. News traveled quickly at Hogwarts, and with Ron, Hermione, Hannah and Justin knowing about him and Severus, most of the school probably knew. Potions class was going to be interesting. Especially with the Slytherins.

He rounded a corner and ran into Sybill Trelawney. She stared at him through her thick glasses, her eyes wide.

"Sorry, Professor-"

Her voice was raspy and deep. "You must distance yourself from all romance. You are causing us great danger!"

Harry backed up as she tried to grab his shoulder. "What?" The crazy old bat.

"Great danger…" She shook her head and peered at Harry strangely. "Excuse me, my boy."

Harry raised an eyebrow in a look that he had learned from Severus. Trelawney was nuts; everyone knew it. Harry forced himself to forget about her. She had predicted _deaths_ before, for God's sake, and none of them had died yet. Harry had bigger problems to worry about.

Right as he got to the Fat Lady, he spun around and started walking back down to the Great Hall.

"Harry!"

Damn. He tried to act as if he hadn't heard Hermione, but she ran up behind him and started to pull him back to the portrait.

"Don't try to run away, honestly. I want to talk to you."

"Who'd you tell?"

She glanced back at him, her hair wild. "About you in Professor Snape's bed this morning? No one. But someone told. The whole school knows."

Harry sighed and planted his feet. She was jerked back. "Well, then I really don't want to go up there, do I?"

"What are you going to do, hide?" She tried to continue pulling him to the portrait.

"Yep." Harry refused to let her drag him. Quidditch was paying off.

"And where are you going to sleep tonight?"

"_That_ is a stupid question."

Hermione flushed. "You should still come and talk to everyone."

"Why should I? No one's going to like the fact that I'm sleeping with Severus, so why should I even bother?"

"You're coming." Hermione pulled her wand out.

"You're bluffing." Harry was unsure about his chances in a duel with Hermione.

She wavered, and then put her wand back in her pocket. "I don't want to hurt you, Harry, but don't be a coward! The rumors are only going to be worse if you keep hiding."

"They're not rumors if it happened." Harry noticed that Hermione had let go of his arm, but he still didn't leave.

"You haven't heard all of them."

"There's more than one?" Oh no. With the imaginations these students possessed, they could be bad.

"How about the one that says Dumbledore was in Professor's Snape bed too?"

Harry's mouth dropped. "He's a ghost! How would that even fucking work?"

"They're saying it's your established kink, along with bedding professors with greasy hair."

Harry suddenly was extremely amused. This was all so absurd! "Really?"

"This is serious, Harry!" Hermione looked a little upset that her revelation had not been taken as seriously as she had hoped.

"I think it's sort of funny, really." Harry grinned and started walking away.

"Wait!" She sighed. "Ron knows. He's really angry."

"Why the hell should I care?" Harry watched as Hermione struggled for a reason.

"Harry…you're my friend, but so is Ron! The two of you are being silly."

"Hermione, you might have a crush on him, but I don't. He's being an idiot."

Hermione's mouth dropped. "I do not have a crush on Ron! I find him just as infuriating as you do."

"Sure." Harry sighed. "And now I've got Ron _and _Trelawney to worry about."

"What happened with Trelawney?" This time when Harry started walking away, she followed him.

"She told me to stay away from romance, because I was causing _great danger_."

Hermione snorted. "She's crazy, Harry."

"There has to be some reason Dumbledore hired her." Harry frowned. They walked down the stairs, and Harry caught a glimpse of a clock in a painting. He knew it was an hour off, but after the calculation, he found out it finally was time for dinner.

"Don't worry about her. She has no_ facts_. She's a dreamer, and nothing else."

"I suppose." Harry and Hermione drifted into the Great Hall slowly. When Harry took a seat at the Gryffindor table, he spotted Ron. He didn't have to worry about him, though; because Ron, along with several other boys, all moved down to the next farthest set of seats. Harry and Hermione found themselves rather alone.

Harry shot a look at the staff table. Severus was staring daggers at the group of Gryffindors that had moved away from Harry. He grinned. Severus caught his eye, and nodded nearly imperceptibly.

A few younger Gryffindor girls suddenly stopped next to Harry.

They whispered and giggled. The tallest one, who seemed to be the leader of the group, stepped forward. "Are you really…gay?" The all shook with laughter.

Harry's eyebrow rose in an interpretation of his lover, and Severus smirked. "Yes…" His voice was even starting to gain the drawl that Severus used when someone stated something obvious.

They giggled again. "Can we sit down?"

Harry nodded and found himself swarmed with preteen girls, who seemed to have an infinite number of questions. Harry didn't answer most of them, because they were mostly sexual in nature. He shot a look back at Severus, and saw him smirking. He whispered something, but Harry wasn't good at reading lips. He turned to Hermione, who had been watching the Potions master too.

She smiled. "He said fifty points to Gryffindor if you get asked whether 'his carpet matches the drapes', and two hundred if you answer."

Harry laughed loudly, and noted with satisfaction the anger on Ron's face.

**(AN: Sorry this was a slow update, but I hope you like it! I'm working on a lot of projects, so my writing is a little slow. XD But I'm not going to forget about this story, and I have a pretty good idea of what I want to do with it, so updates will hopefully be coming faster. Please review!)**


	9. Chapter 9

It's Purely Carnal

Chapter 9

**(AN: I hate Ron. I make no apologies for making him a jerk. Just saying. Sorry for the slow update again – working hard on Voldemort/Snape – just passed 5000 words!)**

When Harry had finally escaped from the girls, he caught Severus's eye. He nodded, so Harry decided he would go down to the Potions master's quarters to wait for him.

He was familiar with the route by now, so he walked with confidence. He admitted to himself that he was in a fog, thinking about Severus and the look on his face when he told him he owed Gryffindor two hundred points.

He rounded a corner quickly, and suddenly found himself shoved up against a wall.

Ron's hand was tightly fisted in Harry's shirt, and the only thing he saw before he blacked out was his other hand coming right at Harry.

!*!*!*!

Harry struggled into consciousness to see a bright light above him, and noticed a pressure on his right hand. It lessened when Severus stood.

"Turn that damn light out!"

The light lessened, and Harry blinked. The pressure on his hand came back. He looked down, and saw Severus's hand holding his tightly.

"How are you feeling?"

Severus sounded anxious, and Harry smiled slightly. "I'd be better if you stopped crushing my hand." Severus abruptly let go, but Harry grabbed his arm. "Would you mind explaining what the _hell _just happened?"

Snape scowled. Harry's mouth twitched up again. He felt sorry for whoever Severus was mad at. "Mr. Weasley and a group of his friends – mostly the ones that moved away from you at dinner – decided to beat you up."

"Why'd they do that?" Harry frowned. He knew Ron didn't like him and Severus together, but to go so far as to beat him up?

Trelawney's head appeared near Harry's face. "I told you, my boy! Your romance is dragging this side apart! Our downfall will be your fault."

Harry raised an eyebrow. Snape stood. "Are you saying you approve of the Weasley boy's actions?"

Trelawney took a step back from Snape, and nodded. Severus's eyes darkened. He walked around Harry's bed towards Trelawney. She was smart enough to back up towards Dumbledore and McGonagall, even if they didn't look very happy with her either.

Dumbledore frowned. "Sybill – how can you say that?"

She adjusted her shawl, and pushed her thick glasses up. "I have Seen it."

Severus rolled his eyes, and Harry tried not to smile.

Dumbledore looked shocked. "A prophecy, Sybill? Why was I not informed of this?"

She lifted her nose. "The Inner Eye does not need to tell all its secrets."

Dumbledore nodded slightly. "And what did this prophecy say?"

"I was told that Harry's romance would cause this side great danger. And, to a point, it already has. We have lost our spy in Voldemort's camp."

Snape sneered. "You can not possibly blame Harry for that."

"I am." Trelawney sniffed.

Harry's mouth dropped open. "What the hell?"

"You will be the end of us, Harry Potter, not the savior." She left the room.

No one seemed too upset to see her go. Dumbledore nodded slowly.

"Harry, I just want to make it clear that I do not hold any anger towards you – it was unfortunate that Severus can not spy for us any longer, but it is not your fault."

Harry nodded. "Trelawney's not serious, is she?"

Snape scoffed. "That women has made few real predictions in her life and many, many fake ones – it is highly unlike one concerning our sex life is real."

Dumbledore's eyes sparkled. "True, but only Sybill knows if it is truly real."

Harry thought about what she had sounded like when she gave the prophecy to him – would she remember it afterwards if it was real? Harry wasn't sure.

McGonagall cleared her throat. "I'll go speak with Sybill. Harry, you ought to rest. Poppy has healed most of your injuries, but you may be rather sore for a time."

Harry nodded, suddenly wanting nothing more than to be left alone with Severus.

Dumbledore stayed behind when McGonagall left. "Harry, eventually you and Mr. Weasley must work this altercation out. For now, I shall leave you to rest. If you need anything, send Severus to fetch Madam Pomfrey."

Harry looked around for the first time since becoming conscious, and noted that he was not in the hospital wing as he had assumed, but rather in Severus's bedroom.

Dumbledore saw his grin, and left the two lovers.

Harry jumped up and ran to the long mirror hanging on the wall, leaving Severus baffled. He stood behind him, and saw Harry checking his neck. "What are you doing?"

Harry looked crestfallen. "She healed _all _my marks."

Severus peered closer at Harry's neck, and then chuckled. "All this fuss over a small love bite?" Harry frowned. Severus put his arm around Harry's shoulders. We can make another later, but for now, you should rest."

Harry allowed himself to be led back to the bed, but he refused to get under the covers. "I'm not tired. You should talk to me."

"How about I tell you what I'd like to do to those bastards who beat you up?"

Harry grinned at the excitement in Severus's eyes, but shook his head. "There's no need to be violent back! Anyway, I'm sure Dumbledore will think up something horrible for them."

Snape sneered. "Those homophobic boys…they ought to be kept in seclusion."

Harry huffed. Snape peered closer at him, and saw a few tears in his eyes. "Harry?"

"He was my friend. And he has to be a jerk because I don't like the sex I'm 'supposed' to."

"They're not worth your time. There are plenty of people who would love to be your friend, Harry, but you have to let them in."

"No offence, Sev, but I don't see you as one to give advice about making friends."

Severus grinned. "Perhaps not."

Harry chuckled.

Severus sighed. "You ought to rest. I'm sure Albus will want you to meet with Mr. Weasley and the others in the morning."

Harry yawned. "I don't know…I don't think I can sleep yet."

Snape kissed Harry. "How about now?"

"Hell no." Harry kissed Severus back.

!*!*!*!

When Madam Pomfrey came unannounced late at night to check on Harry, she found a rather irritated Severus with the buttons on his shirt done up wrong at the door.

He took a great deal of pleasure in slamming the door in her face and going back to his lover.

Harry found it all rather comical, but stopped laughing when his mouth became otherwise occupied. They broke the kiss, checked the clock – twelve midnight – and fell asleep; Harry dreading the next morning, and Severus wanting to see the punishment those poor suckers would get.

**(AN: Next chapter will deal with Ron and Harry attempting to work things out. Sorry this was so short, and so late – I've got a lot on my plate. Hope you liked it anyway, and please, read, review, and rec!) **


	10. Chapter 10

It's Purely Carnal

Chapter 10

**(AN: SO, would you guys rather have really short chapters a few times a week, or long chapters about once a week? Tell me what you think.**

**But THIS IS CHAPTER 10! I didn't think I'd have enough response to this trippy-dream-turned-story to bother getting this far, but I did, so yay for you guys! Everyone of you who reviewed is amazing, and I love you for it. Keep giving me your feedback – I welcome all of it. Review or PM me, I'll try to respond fairly quickly. So sorry this is slow, but I had a long week, and I wanted to make chapter 10 good!)**

When Harry woke up, he smiled when he saw that he was up before Severus. That was a rare occurrence. He stretched.

He got out of bed, causing Severus to wake. He stretched and got out of bed too, shooting a look at the clock – not quite seven. It was early, but neither would be able to sleep again now. Harry walked over and stopped in front of the mirror, grinning. Severus, now clean and dressed, stood behind him.

"Is the new mark…satisfactory?"

Harry laughed. "Beautiful."

!*!*!*!

Severus watched the thin body stretch again, and his stomach flipped. Harry shot a look back at him, implying that he was trying to be as devilish as possible.

Snape growled slightly and kissed the smirk off Harry's face. When they broke apart, there was a grin on both their faces.

Severus touched the mark on Harry's neck, making him shiver. "Glad you like it. Now, you ought to dress."

Harry yawned, looking around for his wand. Severus picked it up off the table near the bed and handed it to him. "Thanks." Harry cast the now familiar cleaning spell on himself. "I'm sure Dumbledore will be showing up here any minute."

"At least it's Saturday."

Harry rooted around for his bag he kept in his lover's room. "He'll probably make me – and you – go back to classes on Monday."

"Most likely." Severus handed Harry the elusive bag.

"Thanks." He pulled out a rather wrinkled shirt – no robes on Saturdays. He frowned at it.

Severus cast a spell to remove the wrinkles, and pulled out a pair of pants and boxers for Harry.

Harry grinned sheepishly. "How did I survive without you?"

Severus smirked. "I imagine Ms. Granger had something to do with it."

"Probably."

!*!*!*!

Once he was dressed, Harry sighed. "So, I never really got the details of what happened to me last night."

Snape smirked again – it was an infuriating but attractive look. "You should be more specific – a lot of things happened to you last night."

Harry chuckled. "I mean with Ron and the others."

Snape's eyes darkened. "I can assure you I don't wish to talk about that."

"Come on, Sev! Someone's gonna tell me eventually; why can't you?"

Snape sneered. "It doesn't warrant mentioning."

Harry frowned.

!*!*!*!

Oh, the boy was being too damn adorable. "I refuse to talk about it."

"I'll just go ask Dumbledore." Harry actually started towards the door, but stopped when Severus sighed.

"Harry, there's little to tell."

"You don't have a clue what happened, do you?" Harry grinned. A slight flush of color appeared high on Severus's cheeks.

The damn boy. "Do you really think that Mr. Weasley and his friends were forthcoming with the details?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "I figured you'd walk in, wand blazing, and use Legilimency on them."

If only. "Dumbledore imagined I would be rather…harsher than necessary."

!*!*!*!

Harry chuckled at the image. "That would be interesting."

Severus nodded. "I admit that I was not in the clearest state of mind."

Harry dropped into an armchair. "Admit it, you were pissed off."

"I was angry."

As he had a right to be. Harry opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a knock at the door. He sighed. "Ten Galleons that it's Dumbledore."

"I am not foolish enough to take that wager. And you have enough Galleons; you don't need mine." Snape smirked and headed for the door.

!*!*!*!

Dumbledore stood outside Severus's room, questioning what was happening behind that door. Was it a mistake to show up this early?

He braced himself when the door opened, but relaxed when he saw both Severus and Harry out of bed and dressed. "Good morning, Severus, Harry." Harry grinned, and Severus nodded slightly. "Are you both ready to come and speak with Mr. Weasley?" Snape sneered. Dumbledore frowned at him. "Severus, are you going to be civil?"

Severus rolled his eyes – perhaps Harry was rubbing off on him just as much as Severus was on Harry. "I make no promises, Albus."

Harry grinned. "He will, Professor."

Albus chuckled at the insanity of this young man speaking with such assurance on the behavior of Severus Snape. "I'm sure you can control him better than I can."

Severus rolled his eyes again and swept out of the room. Harry laughed, and followed him out.

Dumbledore wondered why Harry was so happy, and then remembered that he'd spent the night with Severus – and judging by the mark on his neck, they'd both enjoyed it.

!*!*!*!

When all three of the men stepped into Dumbledore's office, Harry reached into Severus's pocket – shocking everyone else in the room – and took his wand. The Potions master made no objection, but judging by the tightening of his mouth, he was not happy.

Harry took a seat, glancing quickly towards Ron and the others. He saw Ron (obviously), Geoffrey Hooper, Cormac McLaggen (Harry didn't know much about Cormac, but he'd heard the stories like everyone else), and Kenneth Towler. It was a rather ragtag group of boys, and Harry couldn't help smiling.

!*!*!*!

Severus, on the other hand, scowled openly. If it wasn't for Harry taking his wand, he might have done something that he would have regretted – maybe.

!*!*!*!

Dumbledore took a seat behind his desk. He stared at the four boys, who were alternatively trying to make themselves as small as possible to hide from Severus, and look as threatening as possible to Harry. The effect was rather comical, and Dumbledore hid his smile behind his hand.

He then sighed. "Mr. Weasley, are you going to tell us what you did to Harry, or do I need to have Severus brew some Veritaserum?"

!*!*!*!

Severus scowled. "Veritaserum, Albus? Why not simply use Legilimency?" He raised an eyebrow at the boys, who paled at the thought of what the angry Potions master could do to their minds.

!*!*!*!

Dumbledore knew that Severus would more likely end up scrambling the boys' minds for spite than getting the information, so he shook his head. "Perhaps you ought to get the Veritaserum, Severus."

He scowled, but stood. He cast one more glare at the boys, Ron in particular, before swooping out of the room.

!*!*!*!

Harry grinned at the way Ron and his friends immediately became more confident when Severus left the room. They started glaring at him again, and only stopped when Dumbledore raised a hand.

Harry half-listened as Dumbledore talked to the other boys. They didn't say much, so Harry wasn't all that focused.

When Severus walked back in, he sat up straighter. He smiled at the pot of tea Severus conjured up, and watched him pour four cups and add the Veritaserum. He noticed that Dumbledore peered closely at the liquid, as if to make sure it wasn't poison. Severus smirked. Dumbledore nodded, and floated the cups over to each boy.

They all exchanged glances, and refused to drink. Dumbledore cocked his head. "I suppose we could have Severus convince you to drink it."

Even without his wand, Severus cut an impressive – and dangerous – figure. One by one, starting with Cormac, and leaving Ron for last, they each drank the cup in front of them.

Dumbledore nodded. Harry smiled slightly.

!*!*!*!

Severus glanced at Dumbledore. He took a step towards the boys. "Now we might be able to get some answers." The boys nodded furiously. "Now, tell me exactly what you did to Harry."

Ron, pale in contrast with his red hair, swallowed heavily. "We attacked him."

"With spells?" Severus looked with disdain at the boys. He didn't think they had enough magic to take Harry down in a fair fight.

"Partly. We also hit him a few times."

!*!*!*!

Harry listened as Ron explained to Severus the spells they'd used, and why they'd done it. It hurt Harry to hear that the attack had been directly related to Harry dating Severus, and more specifically, a man, even if he had known it already. Severus got visibly angrier as Ron related what had happened in a monotone. Harry was glad he'd taken his wand, even if he would have liked to see Severus attack his once-friend.

!*!*!*!

Eventually, Severus had heard enough. "Are any of you at all sorry?"

The four exchanged glances. It had become clear throughout the conversation that Ron was their leaders of sorts. When he shook his head, all the others did as well.

Severus scowled. "Albus, what do you suggest for these boys for punishment?"

!*!*!*!

Albus was lost. These boys needed punishment – that much was obvious – but nothing would fix the homophobia that seemed to be ingrained in their minds. He knew that their parents would have to be informed. As far as Albus knew, all of these boys came from tolerant families with no ties to the Dark Arts – there was nothing dangerous in these families. He knew that Molly and Arthur Weasley were unaware of Harry's sexual preferences – and that he was in love with Severus – but he was sure that they would react all right. They loved Harry, and he had a strong belief that they would be extremely angry with Ron. The strange thing was that these boys weren't necessarily against Severus and Harry; they were against Harry with another man.

!*!*!*!

Harry watched as Albus whispered something to Severus and left the room. Severus took a seat near Harry, and tried to both glare at the other boys and look at Harry.

"Albus is calling all of these boys' parents."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Is that his idea of a punishment?" When Harry looked over at Ron, he realized that it might be a good idea. Molly Weasley was one person he wouldn't want to make angry.

"It's the first step."

"Are they coming here?"

"Quite likely."

Ron and the other boys exchanged glances again.

!*!*!*!

They paled even more when Dumbledore came back into his office with all of their parents.

Each boy squirmed under his parents' glance. Molly Weasley looked especially angry, and Harry couldn't help smiling. He had the smile knocked off his face when Molly Weasley nearly hugged him to death, however.

Severus smirked, but found himself rather flustered when Molly hugged him as well. Harry laughed aloud.

When Molly released Severus, she took a threatening step towards Ron, who flinched. She scowled and took a seat next to her husband and Harry, patting his hand.

!*!*!*!

The other parents slowly took seats after less enthusiastic greetings for Severus and Harry. Albus kept a straight face, but inside he was rolling with laughter. The best way to punish teenage boys – call their mothers.

Albus gave the meeting over to Severus, after a quick warning not to be overly dramatic.

Severus's first response was a smirk, then he grinned slightly.

"Albus, am I ever dramatic?"

Harry didn't stop grinning for five minutes.

!*!*!*!

Dumbledore, along with the rest of the parents, were pleasantly surprised at how Harry handled himself. Even while listening to the details of how he was attacked because of whom he was dating, he managed to keep himself from getting angry. Dumbledore suspected it was because of Severus – his anger was certainly enough for one relationship. Albus would never have expected Harry to be the calm one, but when you measured him against Severus, he had to be.

After Albus finished giving the more specific details on what had happened, the parents were upset. Molly Weasley looked ready to murder her son, along with the rest of them. She continued to pat Harry's hand, despite his discomfort. Severus continued his glaring at the group of attackers, who shrank in their chairs from the combined force of the most terrifying teacher in school and the most terrifying mom in school.

Albus was at a loss. A simple detention wouldn't solve this problem, and he knew that it wouldn't satisfy Severus, Harry or the parents.

!*!*!*!

Suddenly, Molly snapped her fingers. "Harry, my dear, you must come stay with us for winter hols!"

Harry exchanged a quick glance with Severus. "Thanks, Mrs. Weasley, but I was planning on staying at Hogwarts – with Severus."

"He can come as well!" She turned and shot a killer look at Ron, who shut his mouth and sank back in his chair.

Severus raised an eyebrow. "Madam, perhaps you missed the part about your son attacking Harry…?"

"Nothing will happen to you two while I'm around, I promise!" She looked at Arthur, who nodded slightly. He looked shell-shocked.

Albus grinned. "I love it, Molly!"

Severus rolled his eyes. Of course Albus did. "This is not a punishment for Mr. Weasley and the others."

Harry heard Severus's implied 'it's a punishment for us,' and almost agreed. "Professor, I don't know-"

Albus interrupted him. "I'm sure these boys' parents will be punishing them, and I can assure you, Severus, that they will receive strict punishment here as well."

!*!*!*!

Severus took several steps towards the desk, and lowered his voice. "Albus, I don't wish to spend my winter holidays with the Weasley family."

"What else will you be doing, Severus?" Albus leaned back, content.

"I have classes to prepare for the new semester-"

"You've had your classes prepared since last year ended."

"What if I wished to go somewhere?"

"You know perfectly well that you and Harry would stay locked up in your room all holiday."

True. "Albus-"

"It's been decided, Severus. Harry needs interaction outside of you, you know."

Snape narrowed his eyes. "You know this will be a disaster."

Albus' eyes twinkled. "I'm sure Molly will give you and Harry a shared room."

Severus clenched his wand hand, and wished in vain that he could curse Albus and not be sent to Azkaban. He had the wandless power for it… "That is far beyond the point."

"Admit it, Severus – that was your first worry upon hearing the plan."

!*!*!*!

Harry had the impressive vantage point of being able to see – and hear – all of Severus and Dumbledore's conversation. He watched Severus's eyes get darker. Harry held on tighter to the wand.

When Severus grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the room, all Harry could do was laugh.

!*!*!*!

"Harry, I will end up cursing every member of that family if I have to spend my holiday with them."

"Severus, calm down. I'm sure it won't be that bad."

"I imagine that no one in that house will be happy with the two of us sharing a room, whatever Albus thinks, and I refuse to spend it separated."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Severus. Do you really think Dumbledore will change his mind? I'm not thrilled about this either, but unless you want to go on the run – and be chased by Aurors all holiday – we probably don't have much of a choice."

"I'm sure in a fair duel I could easily subdue Aurors without Dark curses."

"Aurors wouldn't fight fair. They're scared of you."

Severus smirked. "As they should be."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Right. Come on."

Severus briefly considered refusing to follow Harry back in, but the horror of what Harry would agree to just to spite him was staggering, so he went back in to keep what was left of his sanity.

!*!*!*!

After making sure that Harry and Severus wouldn't just Apparate away before winter hols, Albus let the families go. He didn't envy the position of those boys right now. There were some angry parents – especially Molly. Albus couldn't help laughing at the image of Harry and Severus staying with the Weasleys. He would have to drop in there sometime during hols…

**(AN: Yeah, chapter 10! Hope you like it, sorry, it's so AU/has such a fucked up timeline, sorry it was late, sorry it wasn't ten thousand words, etc, etc… Just kidding, I love you all. Please review and rec, if you can. And I really don't know how I can reconcile the fact that it's nearly Christmas break in the story with what time I thought it was. It was far too good of an idea to pass up. And it will be brilliant. EDITED 7/8/2011 to fix Dumbledore's magic drinking abilities while being non-corporeal, and for a few odd sentences.)**


	11. Chapter 11

It's Purely Carnal

Chapter 11

Severus and Harry spent the remainder of the weekend holed up in Severus's bedroom. They emerged Monday morning to rumors about the attack – generally over-dramatic ones, but relatively true to the facts. Severus, despite his usual iron fist, had little control over the whispers that ran through his classes all day – after threatening one student, Albus forbid him to do it again. Pity was the overwhelming emotion towards Harry. The group of girls again swarmed him at breakfast, and was only deterred at lunch by Harry hiding in the library.

When Severus finally finished his classes, he skipped dinner, located Harry, and holed back up in his room. As he graded papers, he answered Harry's questions about his own work; generally, he was sarcastic, but Harry eventually understood the concept.

"I wouldn't have guessed you would be good at Charms."

"I am good at everything."

Harry laughed.

!*!*!*!

When the two had to remove a house elf who had heard the rumors from the room forcibly, Severus poured himself a glass of scotch and sat down on the couch. "I'm not sure which would be worse; staying here for the holiday, or going to the Weasleys'."

Harry chuckled. "We'll find out in a week, won't we?" He tried to steal a sip of Severus's scotch.

The Potions master glared at him, and floated a bottle of wine over.

Harry frowned. "All I get is wine? Why do you get scotch?"

"The world can't handle an intoxicated Harry Potter. We've been over this before."

Harry remembered the last time he got drunk in front of Severus, and poured himself a glass of wine. The bastard had even watered it down.

!*!*!*!

The two survived the next few days in a similar matter, with a changing balance of domestic scenes, drunkenness, and sex. They went to all their classes – Severus tortured his students with two rolls of parchment due before holiday while Harry procrastinated to avoid doing his History of Magic essay – and spent the rest of the time in their room. On the bright side, with a tutor like Severus, Harry got the second best marks on his essay.

They tried to avoid Dumbledore if possible, along with most of the students. Severus even held off given detentions to avoid being in contact with them. Harry saw Hermione, who thought of it as her duty to proofread his essay (she was shocked that Severus had actually given someone answers; Harry simply laughed), but she saw the domestic scene and got the point that she was intruding. She did make it clear that she would be spending winter hols with the Weasleys for at least a few days – she tried to keep the smile off her face, but Harry knew that she was looking forward to seeing the calamity this holiday would become.

!*!*!*!

On Saturday morning, when anyone leaving for the holidays was to board the train, Albus showed up at Severus's room early, in hopes that he wouldn't have to force the two out. He was not shocked that Severus slammed the door in his face, but he was surprised that the two appeared with trunks packed at the train less than a half hour from then. Albus was not leaving for holiday quite yet, but when he did, he would have to make a side trip to see the Weasleys.

!*!*!*!

Severus detested trains. Especially trains filled with hundreds of teenage wizards. Everywhere he looked, he saw kissing, cursing, rule breaking and idiocy. He and Harry found their own compartment, and Severus locked the door magically.

Harry raised an eyebrow. "You don't think that's a little extreme? What if all the other compartments are full?"

"Then they can sit on someone's lap. They will not be part of my company."

"Severus, no offense, but I'm about the only one on this train who does desire your company."

Severus smirked.

When the trolley came around, Harry automatically got up to buy something, then spotted the lock. He turned his eyes on Severus.

The stoic man tried to resist, but he slowly softened. He opened the door for Harry, who ran out and bought sweets for the both of them. Whatever Severus said, he was a sucker for a Pumpkin Pasty.

!*!*!*!

The two of them stood uncomfortably on the platform, watching the students walk by. Severus attempted to ignore the pointing and stares he received, but when he finally spotted the trademark Weasley hair, he was almost grateful.

When he saw there was two heads, and that they were identical, he thought that he would rather go on the run and fight Aurors.

!*!*!*!

Fred and George shook Harry's hand, grinning widely, and shot a look or two at Severus. When they exchanged a devious glance, Severus sighed and shut his eyes. Harry chuckled.

Eventually, Ron and Ginny showed up. There was a tense few moments while Molly and Arthur hadn't appeared yet, and after hearing a short whispered conversation between the twins, Severus dragged Harry off to a bench some ways away. He leaned his head back against the wall and wished to be back in his room, with a bottle of scotch and Harry, not on his way to the Weasley home.

Harry let Severus close his eyes, knowing it would be safer for all involved. He watched Fred and George make lewd hand gestures at him, and tried not to laugh. Ron and Ginny were alternatively glaring at Harry and acting as if he didn't exist.

!*!*!*!

Molly and Arthur did eventually appear, explaining their absence as having to catch Percy's owl, which had been chased by a gnome onto the roof and refusing to stay still. Severus groaned slightly when he heard this, expecting his holiday to be full of gnomes and pesky owls, along with pesky children.

!*!*!*!

They found themselves in the Ford Anglia being driven to the Burrow. Severus questioned the pointlessness of this aloud – after all, they could Apparate; why drive? He was ignored by all, except Mrs. Weasley, who explained that Arthur liked driving. Severus mumbled something about that being a pathetic excuse and Harry coughed (it sounded suspiciously like a laugh).

!*!*!*!

After a few close calls, mostly due to Mr. Weasley being unfamiliar with the actual method of driving, the car did make it to the Weasley home. Severus spelled his and Harry's trunks out of the magically expanded car, and tried to sneak upstairs. When he was deterred by Mrs. Weasley, he nearly cursed her.

She made them allow her to show them to the room they would be staying in. There was an awkward moment when she tried to explain why she had given them the most remote room, but Severus guessed it anyway – she had no doubt that the two men would not make it through the holiday without sex.

Severus didn't want to venture downstairs. Severus, who knew more spells than Harry and was the only one willing to do them, put a few spells to keep the family out, but he couldn't keep the smells of the meal Molly was cooking out.

Harry's stomach started to rumble. He pouted in Severus's general direction. Eventually, Severus looked up and sighed.

"The way to your heart is through your stomach." Severus smirked. "And other organs."

Harry smirked at Severus. "I'm hungry."

"Terribly sorry."

"Come on, Sev, let's just go down and eat."

"You had breakfast."

"That was hours ago."

"Stop whining, Harry, it's most unattractive."

Harry knew better than that. "Sure. Now, come on!"

Severus shot a look at Harry. "I'm not that easily swayed. I will not go down there."

"I won't have sex with you."

Severus turned towards Harry. He stared at him for such a long time that Harry felt silly for even suggesting that, because he would never make it.

Severus turned back away from Harry. "Somehow, I think that would not happen."

Severus tolerated about five more minutes of Harry pacing, huffing, and pouting before he opened the door.

Harry didn't leave. "Are you coming?"

"No."

Harry involuntarily grinned at his tone. "Come on, I know you're hungry too."

"No."

"Severus…"

Snape closed his eyes. "That family is more dangerous than a pack of drunken Death Eaters."

"Let's go." Harry left.

Severus paced for a moment, then followed Harry out of the room.

!*!*!*!

He stopped at a corner when he heard voices. Peering around, he spotted Harry and the Weasley twins. He didn't bother to tell the two apart.

One of them stepped closer to Harry and whispered something to his brother. Snape cast an amplifying spell, but had already missed it.

Both twins took more steps towards Harry. Snape began to feel as if something was wrong, but he decided to let it play out.

!*!*!*!  
Harry looked up at George, then Fred. They stared back at him.

Finally, Fred chuckled. "Where's old Severus?"

"He's coming."

George grinned. "Couldn't resist the smell?"

Harry smiled sheepishly, still darting his gaze back and forth between the two.

"Me and Fred were thinking about you, now that you're flaming gay, and pretty bloody gorgeous at that."

"Okay…"

!*!*!*!

Severus kept his cool up until the point one of the twins tried to kiss Harry. Since Harry told 'Fred' to get off, it must have been Fred.

Then he came around the corner.

!*!*!*!

For some reason, neither twin looked too worried. They backed off and grinned identically at Severus.

The one who had tried to kiss Harry – Fred – chuckled. "You've got a nice little boy here, Snape. I don't suppose you share?" He roamed his eyes over Severus in a way that made him hard. He banished the thoughts from his mind, grabbed Harry and started to leave.

Just before descending the stairs, he turned back to the twins. "Death Eaters don't share."

!*!*!*!

Severus stopped halfway down the stairs. "Are you all right?"

"Severus, Fred tried to kiss me, not murder me."

"Both should be a capital offense, for anyone but me."

Harry cocked an eyebrow at the phrasing. "Does that mean you're going to murder me?"

"Potter, plenty of people have tried to murder you, and have never succeeded. What makes you think that your lover will be the one to do it?"

Harry chuckled, and continued down the stairs.

!*!*!*!

Finally, Harry sat down with a big plate of Molly's food. Severus raised an eyebrow, and served himself a much smaller plate.

Harry grinned at his lover with his mouth full, and Severus rolled his eyes.

"If you gain fifty pounds, I will not sleep with you."

"If you _lose_ more than five pounds, I won't sleep with you. You're damn skinny enough."

"Hm."

Harry caught the subtle actions that meant he had hurt Severus's feelings – his eyes refused to meet Harry's, his jaw was tight, and his left hand tapped on the table. Harry shifted uneasily. "Sorry."

"That's alright."

"It's just…you are pretty damn skinny. It's almost a little scary."

"I'm far from wasting away, Harry."

"You didn't use to be this skinny."

"I recently lost some weight."

"Right after you started sleeping with me."

"Did you prefer my weight before?"

Harry ran a hand through his hair, and glanced around, noticing that all the Weasleys had left the kitchen. "It's not that you aren't bloody gorgeous; just don't go too far, okay?"

"Your concern is noted."

!*!*!*!

When Severus finished his plate, he stood up and got another one.

Harry grinned.

!*!*!*!

When Harry had finished his plate, and talked Severus into having a small piece of pudding, Snape tried to go back upstairs. Harry held his arm.

"What?"

"Severus, we're staying in their house, we have to talk to them at some point."

"I don't think so."

"Do you want me to stay down here with the twins by myself?"

Severus stepped off the steps, and allowed himself to be dragged along. "I make no promises as to not cursing anyone."

"I wouldn't expect anything different."

!*!*!*!

Severus spotted a chessboard in the family room, and sat down at it. Harry grinned.

"I suppose you'd like to play."

"Yes."

"You just want to beat me."

"Yes, Harry. I do."

Harry looked around, and when no one forbid them to play, he sat down and set up the pieces.

!*!*!*!

Ten minutes later, as always happened when playing wizards' chess with Severus, Harry was losing badly.

As always happened by this point, Severus was giving him advice – just not enough that Harry could win.

"Knight to G5."

"Don't do that."

"Why?"

Severus showed Harry an elaborate number of moves that would happen if he played his knight on G5, which ended in his checkmate.

Harry sighed, and told his knight to go back. The poor angry chess piece cursed at him.

!*!*!*!

Five minutes later, despite Harry's best efforts, he had lost miserably.

Severus had a rather self-satisfied smile on his face.

!*!*!*!

When Ginny, watching the domestic scene, found herself so upset that she ran out of the room crying, Harry and Severus both agreed that it was time to go upstairs. They were on their way out of the room when Molly Weasley stopped them.

"There will be no hiding up in your room all day, Harry, Severus. Interact! Play another game of chess, for all I care. But you will not spend the entire holiday locked up in your room."

Severus shot a look at Harry. Harry grinned and went back to the chessboard. "Another game?"

"Let's go outside instead."

!*!*!*!

Over the course of their affair, both when it was secret and public, Severus had been teaching Harry spells. No Dark curses – Harry forbid it – but useful, unique or entertaining spells that Severus thought Harry might like. They never dueled – Severus was inclined to use painful curses when he dueled, and refused to do that to Harry – but Snape was slowly teaching Harry an arsenal of rather useless spells – because those were the ones Harry wanted to master – that even Ms. Granger would be surprised at.

Harry produced a corporeal Patronus, just for fun. He shot a look at Severus, hoping he would produce one too. He didn't know what form Sev's took.

Severus, however, waited until Harry stopped focusing, and his Patronus faded, and then he smiled. "Very good."

"Are you going to teach me something, or did you just want to get out of there?"

"I'm thinking."

!*!*!*!

Twenty minutes later, Harry had accidentally mispronounced a spell, and caught the Burrow on fire. He stood outside, biting his lip, watching Severus and Mr. Weasley put it out. The remainder of the Weasley family stood looking on, caught between anger and laughter.

When the fire was out, Severus grabbed Harry's hand and pulled him upstairs. This time, no one objected.

!*!*!*!

Severus shut his eyes. Harry kept biting his lip.

They both burst out laughing.

Severus shook his head. "You are the clumsiest boy I know."

"You told me the spell!"

"You said it wrong."

They checked the clock, and decided to not leave the room until dinner – and Severus was only convinced of that because he remembered how difficult Harry was when he was hungry.

Severus tried to appear busy, but he was bored. Harry flipped through the books Severus had brought with him, but nothing interested him.

!*!*!*!

The two were both anxious and thrilled when there was a knock on their door.

It switched to anger when it was Trelawney.

**(AN: Sorry it's been so long. Having a bit of a tough time. Script Frenzy's also coming up, and I've got Voldemort/Snape to finish – but I PROMISE that I will not forget this story. The updates might just be a little slower.** **Please read/review/rec/add to alerts! EDITED 7/8/2011 to fix a few odd things.)**


	12. Chapter 12

It's Purely Carnal

Chapter 12

**(AN: I realized Sirius just sort of disappeared, along with Voldemort. I'll fix that. XD)**

!*!*!*!

Severus nearly slammed the door in Sybill's face, but was prevented when she shoved her foot in the door.

"Severus, Harry, my dears, how nice to see you here."

"Sybill, the feeling is far from mutual."

Trelawney was used to insults by this point. "I just thought I might drop in and have dinner with my dear friends the Weasleys – it completely slipped my mind the two of you were here."

Harry happened to know that most of the Weasleys hated Trelawney. "Professor, dinner will be hours from now. We had a late lunch."

Her wide eyes peered at him. "The Inner Eye did not inform me of that fact – this must be destiny! I'll have to pass the time with the two of you." Without any further comment, she pushed past the stunned couple and took a seat on the couch. "I don't suppose you have any sherry, Severus?"

"A true drinker has whisky, Sybill. No."

Severus and Harry slowly left the door, leaving it slightly agar.

Trelawney, who seemed to have located the leftover wine, stared at Harry in that terrifying way of hers. "I had a vision about you, boy. You and Severus."

"Really?" Harry tried to appear interested.

"Yes, yes – very grave. The cards are not good for the two of you, not at all."

"I thought we were talking about visions, not the cards, Sybill." Severus raised an eyebrow.

"Both, my boy, both."

Severus sneered. 'Boy' was a rather interesting term for Sybill to use in regard to him. "Yes, I'm sure."

"I informed Dumbledore of the fact, but he seemed rather unhappy with me. I reminded him that I do not have control of Fate and Destiny, but he seems determined to shoot the messenger."

"Sybill, perhaps it would be best if you were to go – I'll give you money for sherry if I must, but let me and Harry enjoy our afternoon. Without you." Severus raised an eyebrow again.

"No, my boy, I told you – I'm going to have dinner with the Weasleys."

Severus leaned back in his chair. He could easily force Sybill out. She was slowly getting drunk on the cheap wine – for a woman who drank so much, she had a remarkably low alcohol tolerance – and would probably pass out soon enough. However, did he really want a drunken Trelawney passed out in his room, and, most likely, his bed? His fingers twitched for his wand.

Harry shot a disapproving glance at him. "Severus, I don't think so."

Trelawney, still nursing the wine, looked amused. "Severus, the signs did indicate you were mostly fluff, but I thought you might have more strength than this."

Severus' lips tightened. "Sybill, one more word, and you will be gone."

She huffed. "Threats, Severus – honestly?"

"It's a promise, not a threat."

Harry sniggered, but bit his lip when Trelawney glared at him.

!*!*!*!

Severus managed to keep calm until Trelawney started questioning their sex lives. Apparently, the cards hadn't given her enough information. So Severus threw her out. He noted with amusement that she was so drunk by this point that she could barely stand.

She was not to be deterred, and remained knocking at their door until Severus threatened to owl Dumbledore.

She angrily stomped down the stairs, and eventually Disapparated.

!*!*!*!

Severus poured himself a glass of his most expensive whisky – making sure to put the protective spells back on the drawer to keep Harry out – and took a seat on his bed. He smirked at Harry's glances at his drink, and gestured to another bottle of wine. Harry muttered about hypocritical drinkers and took a sip of the wine.

!*!*!*!

It was only when the smell of dinner started to float back up that Harry stopped his sulking and shot a look at Severus. "Are we gonna go eat?"

"Personally, I could do without a repeat of earlier. Go get a plate and bring it up here, if you're hungry."

"I'm always hungry."

"I've noticed."

"Anyway, we're guests here, unwilling or not, so we have to interact. Come on!"

Severus shot a pitiful look at Harry. "No."

"You have to eat, Sev."

"No, I think I will survive."

"Don't be a baby. I'm going down there – who know what they'll do to me without you to protect me?"

Severus, for all his positives, had a rather underdeveloped sense of sarcasm. "You would die."

"Come on."

!*!*!*!

Severus had no chance. He followed Harry down seconds after the boy left.

Harry chuckled.

!*!*!*!

The two sat down for dinner. One of the things Harry liked about the Weasleys was the large family, and the feeling of belonging that came with it. However, when you have Severus Snape snarling next to you, all sense of belonging flies out the window.

Harry and Severus ate rather awkwardly. Molly tried to fill the silence with assorted questions, but had no responses.

!*!*!*!

Sirius's arrival was a blessing in disguise.

Sirius took a seat, shaking his long hair from the sudden rain that had sprung up.

!*!*!*!

Molly smiled, even though she was rather flustered. "So, Sirius, what brings you here?"

Sirius chuckled. "Honestly, I figured Severus would have gone crazy and committed murder by now, and I wasn't gonna miss it."

Harry glared. "Sirius!"

He rolled his eyes. "You know I'm only joking. I wanted to spend Christmas with my favorite godson!"

Severus raised an eyebrow. "Favorite and only."

"Well, it still applies." Sirius took the plate of food Molly handed him. "Thanks."

"Are you planning on staying the night?"

"Yes, I think so. I've got some news for the Order members as well. Dumbledore told me to pass it along. He might drop in as well."

Molly sighed. "Well, I'll get a room ready for you, and make sure one is ready for Albus too."

"Don't strain yourself. All I need is a cot." He leaned towards Molly and whispered. "And make sure I'm not too close to the lovebirds – that's a sound I don't need."

Harry's mouth dropped. "_Sirius_!"

"Harry, honestly – get used to it." His grin was especially calculated to drive Harry mad.

Severus raised an eyebrow again. "Black, perhaps you ought to stop."

Harry frowned. "You're probably drunk."

"Quite, Harry, quite." He grinned the smile that his Animangus always had.

Harry noticed everyone else sped up eating their dinner.

Sirius scratched his neck. "Well, anyway – the Order members all need to be called. They're coming here, I think. Personally, I think Albus just couldn't resist the show." He grinned at Harry and Severus, who were not impressed.

"What's happened, Sirius?" Harry was curious – it had been rather quiet lately.

"Harry, didn't I say it was for the _Order members_?"

"You can't be serious."

"Of course I'm Sirius." Sirius waited for Harry to laugh, then bit his lip. "Wow, tough crowd."

"If I'm not allowed to hear Order stuff by now, you're all crazy."

"Well, I don't know about all…"

"Sirius!"

"Come on, Harry-"

"Sirius Black, I don't believe you!"

Severus smirked. "Perhaps you may have forgotten this, but Harry will hear it all from me anyway – he might as well hear it in the meeting."

Sirius opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a knock.

!*!*!*!

After Molly answered it, a flood of Order members slipped in. First was Remus Lupin, who Sirius granted with a hearty "Moony!" Remus saw automatically that Sirius was drunk.

He was closely followed by Tonks, whose hair was a strange shade of purple today.

Dumbledore came in next. He twinkled at Severus, and smiled in Sirius's general direction. He greeted everyone lightly.

Moody was late, and refused to comment as to whether he had been attacking anyone.

Kingsley Shacklebolt followed Moody in, and whispered that Moody had attacked a cat in his garbage cans again.

McGonagall, looking rather flustered, gratefully accepted the drink Molly offered her, and took a seat.

When all of the members who were expected had appeared, Molly quickly shuffled all of her children out, save Bill and Charlie (the only ones of age). Ron, along with Fred and George, put up a fight, but they knew better than to double cross their mother for long.

!*!*!*!

Harry waited for someone to tell him to get out, and sure enough, as soon as his drink-addled mind remember him, Sirius tried to send him out. This prompted a large argument, throughout which Harry felt he wasn't even present. Due mostly to Severus's biting sarcasm and threats to tell him it all anyway, he was grudgingly allowed to stay, with the concession that he was not a full member.

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled throughout the whole time.

!*!*!*!

When the fight of Harry's right to hear the news had been settled, Dumbledore stood. "I was going to have Sirius prepare you all before hand, but I see he had found something else to occupy himself." Sirius, aptly, hiccupped. "I regret having to tell you this, but there is no way around it. Voldemort has been sighted in the area. A message found with the body of a witch tells us that he will not rest until…Well, until Severus and Harry are dead."

!*!*!*!

Severus was not surprised. He and Harry listened to the facts and questioned where they were going. Harry rolled his eyes when Albus suggested that they stayed with the Weasleys until the holiday was over, with an Order guard, and then come back to Hogwarts, but the two of them agreed.

Albus sighed. "I suppose I should have suspected this – I suppose all of us should have known that it wouldn't be that easy. Me dying did not stop Voldemort, and we were silly not to look for him harder. At this point, it is increasingly important that the two of you stay in the Burrow and be safe. Intelligence will do its best to find out what's going, and we'll keep you informed. Sirius, perhaps you ought to stay here as well. Molly, you'll be able to handle the Order, won't you?" She nodded. "Good. I must go back to Hogwarts. Be careful, all of you."

!*!*!*!

After a few more goodbye's, Albus Disapparated. A guard schedule was developed that left Sirius, Remus, Tonks and Moody there for the night.

No one stopped Harry and Severus as they headed up to bed, listening to Remus attempt to keep Sirius sober for the rest of the night.

!*!*!*!

**(AN: See, I didn't forget this story; it was just delayed. XD I really do apologize for that. It is Script Frenzy time, after all. I'll try to do better. Please review! I don't know what people like and don't like if you don't!)**


	13. Chapter 13

It's Purely Carnal

Chapter 13

_(AN: I'm almost done with Screnzy, so here's another chapter! A bit of…well, PWP in this chapter. Not real actual sex, just leading up to. I think it's cause I'm still in the Kirk/Spock mood, and I wrote a bit of a sexy scene for that – go read it, if you haven't. At least I'm not having Harry crossdress like I did with Kirk – unless you guys like that idea? I'm kidding, kidding.)_

When Sirius got up with a wicked hangover the next morning, no one felt overly sorry for him. Severus flat out refused to spend his time making a potion for him to take, and looked rather smug sitting on the couch with his tea. Harry glared at him a few times, but he wasn't swayed.

Harry was tired. Sirius had woken him up in the middle of night by knocking on his door, still drunk, and trying to get him to come and talk to him. Severus had found it amusing, and had to dodge Harry's pillow.

It was not a good time for Ron and Ginny to pretend to throw up in their oatmeal when Harry snuggled up against Severus's chest.

He immediately flared up. Severus grabbed his wrists just after he got his wand out, but he couldn't stop the volley of insults the three traded back and forth.

That only stopped when Molly yelled at them.

Harry grabbed Severus's wrist and pulled him upstairs, and no one tried to stop him.

!*!*!*!

Severus was surprised to have Harry kiss him erotically when they got upstairs – pleasantly surprised, because he was rather randy as of late; uncomfortably so, because Harry was rarely this out of control.

He broke the kiss and stared at Harry, who was breathing heavily. "Harry James Potter, take a moment and think. It's morning, there are people – including a member of your family – in the house, and some of them _hate_ _us_. Is sex really the thing to do right now?"

"Since when are you the reasonable one?" Harry rolled his eyes and pulled his shirt over his head.

"You've never been reasonable, so someone has to be." He watched Harry throw his shirt across the room. "If you've been into my whisky-"

"I'm not drunk, Sev, but I am horny." He settled back on the bed. "Either I'm gonna do something about that, or you are."

"Teenagers." Severus sighed.

Harry grinned. "I know how you feel about me…taking matters into my own hands, as it were."

"You impertinent little imp."

"You love me."

Severus did love him very much right then as he popped open the first button on his trousers.

Harry cast a pleading look at Severus. "Come _on_, Sev. It's been way too long."

"Maybe for a teenager. Adult men can go without sex for more than a few days."

"Liar. You're insanely turned on right now, don't pretend you're not."

Severus rolled his eyes. "Don't flatter yourself; I do have some self control."

Harry shook his head and opened another button. "Admit it; you'd love nothing better than to fuck me into the headboard right now."

Severus raised an eyebrow. "Harry, no underwear? Honestly."

"You love it."

Oh, hell yes, he did. For a minute neither of them moved. Finally, Severus sighed with resignation and kissed Harry. Harry's grin was insufferable, so Severus had to kiss him again.

!*!*!*!

Harry was always rather happy after he got what he wanted, especially if it was sexual in nature. He grinned insufferably again as Severus got dressed. When he had finished, he shot a look at Harry.

"Are you planning on getting dressed ever?"

Harry shook his head, still smiling like an idiot. "I think I'll stay right here, like this, forever."

"I imagine that would be interesting."

"Wouldn't Voldemort's face be priceless when he comes to kill me?"

Severus shut his eyes. "If, Harry."

"If what?"

"If he comes to kill you, not when."

"Severus, don't pretend like it's not coming."

"It doesn't have to."

"Eventually, he and I will meet again."

Severus watched his lover – a young boy with far too much experience stared back at him. "What do you think will happen?"

"I don't know."

"Shouldn't you be worried about that?"

"It's not something I'm concerned about. What happens happens."

Severus suddenly flared. "Harry Potter, you selfish twat!"

Harry was surprised. "What?"

"You're just going to sit back and let the Dark Lord kill you, and let yourself die?"

"What else can I do?"

"Fight back!" Severus grabbed Harry's shoulders and kissed him roughly. "Don't you dare just sit and die."

Harry, shocked by the sudden kiss, touched Severus's face. "Sev, I don't want to die."

"Then do something about it." Severus suddenly stood and wrenched the door open, taking the stairs two at a time. Harry swore loudly and threw some clothes on, running down the stairs behind him, but Severus had already Disapparated when he got down there. He swore again, and aimed a vicious kick at a passing garden gnome.

He went back inside, slamming the door and causing the whole room to look up, and ran back up the stairs.

!*!*!*!

A few minutes later, Sirius went up the stairs quietly. He knocked softly. "Harry?"

"What?"

"Can I come in?"

"I guess."

Sirius opened the door slowly, and stepped inside. Harry was lying on his bed with his arm over his eyes. "Are you alright?"

"Sorta."

Sirius heard Harry's misery. "No, you're not."

"Fine, Sirius, I'm fucking miserable."

Sirius bit his lip. "Sorry."

"'S okay."

"Where'd Severus go?"

Harry sniffed. "I don't know."

"What happened?"

"I'm an arse."

Sirius took a seat. "Any particular reason why?"

"Me and Sev were talking about me fighting Voldemort, and how I thought it was inevitable."

"And?"

"He thought I was submitting to death."

"Are you?"

Harry groaned. "I don't know. Usually Sev is right about me even when I don't know how I feel."

Sirius laughed. "What other examples are there?"

"I'm not telling you; they're mostly sexual."

"So the git likes kinky stuff."

"Shut up, Sirius."

"Sorry." Sirius sighed. "Anything I can do?"

"Make Sev get his arse back here."

!*!*!*!

Severus, once he Disapparated, regretted it immediately. He walked up the Hogwarts drive, but he didn't go in. He took a seat on the stairs and swore loudly.

"Still the dirty mouthed traitor we knew, aren't you, Severus?"

Severus, well trained by this point in his life, stood fluidly and pulled his wand out. "Why, if it isn't Lucius Malfoy."

"The Dark Lord's rather upset that you went and disappeared."

"I had better things to do than stick around there."

"Like fuck a child?"

"Harry is far from a child."

Lucius shot a Dark spell at Severus, who blocked it. "I see you haven't gotten any better at dueling, Lucius."

"I've gotten better at killing."

"So you've gone from complete hopeless to plausible?" Severus dodged another spell, closer this time.

"Shut up, Snape!"

The two dueled. Fighting Lucius was barely worth his time. He came out of the fight with a Stunned Malfoy and one bleeding arm. He sent a message to some Aurors, and Disapparated.

!*!*!*!

He walked up the stairs of the Burrow slowly, meeting Sirius on the way down. They secretly exchanged a glance in realization of the way Severus's conversation might go.

When Severus opened the door, he knew he shouldn't have worried. Harry pounced on him, apologizing profusely and kissing him every few seconds. When he finally noticed Severus's arm, he dragged him downstairs to have Molly dress it, and forced him to tell the story. Harry managed to restrain himself until they got back upstairs – under the pretext of letting Severus rest – and then he kissed him again.

_(AN: Hope you liked it! Please review! I'll be finishing Script Frenzy soon, and my other projects are all coming together, so this story should get some more attention soon. While you're waiting, you could check out the new Kirk/Spock on my profile…? *hopeful* It needs some love. Thanks, guys!)_


	14. Chapter 14

It's Purely Carnal

Chapter Fourteen

_(AN: Please don't kill me. I really didn't mean to wait this long. I've been crazy busy. I hope this makes up for it – and, you know, if someone were to maybe suggest something, or give a little more feedback on what works and what doesn't, more of this story would get finished quicker… And I'm not entirely sure how long British hols go on, so I'm going off of the American two weeks or so – it's only the morning of the second day. I'll be pulling some surprises out soon though; don't you worry!)_

Severus, despite how he had brushed off his duel as no big deal, was slightly tired (and sexually exhausted as well; he _was _aging) so he turned in for a quick nap. Harry knew Sev got creeped out if he watched him sleep, so he took his advice and left.

He went down to the kitchen – hungry, as always – and met Molly. Molly, however much she attempted to be supportive, wasn't blind, and Harry hadn't bothered cleaning up a ton. He ran his fingers through his hair awkwardly; giving her just as sheepish a grin as hers was worried.

She put her hands on his face and turned it sideways, giving a slight frown at the mark on his neck. She sighed. "Harry, my dear, I must say this, as it seems Sirius isn't going to."

"Mrs. Weasley, I'm fine, really." He moved his face a little, to remind her that she still had her hands on his face.

"You're not going anywhere, dear, you're going to listen."

Harry stood patiently, knowing it was better to yield to stubborn lovers _and _mothers.

"I'm worried about you, Harry. Teenage boys ought not to be so involved.Why…I hate to mention it, but what would your parents say?"

Harry grinned. "I imagine Dad wouldn't be quite so worried; Sirius's told me stories-"

She shook her head quickly. "Never mind, dear; but think about your mum. I'm not suggesting Severus is wrong for you; I suspect he's right nice when he wants to be. I'm just suggesting you think a bit."

"Is this about me and Sev fucking in your house?"

Molly bit her lip awkwardly, and shut her eyes.

Harry blushed crimson. "Sorry, wasn't thinking right then."

She nodded. "Quite alright, deary, quite alright. I suppose my forbidding it would do little good any way – I know Severus's temperament better than you think, and yours just as well – I just again stress a bit of restraint."

"What do ya mean?"

She looked at him critically. "Maybe a shower if you and Severus are going to go for romps in the hay in the middle of the day."

"My hair's always like this, you know."

Her eyes twinkled, and she patted his cheek affectionately. "I hope your clothes aren't always this wrinkled."

"Sev likes to iron, so no."

She chuckled. "As I said, I think you two are right nice for each other. Maybe you can calm him down a bit."

Harry inwardly sighed of relief when she took her hand of his face. "Please. He's all bark and no bite."

She looked back at his neck pointedly. "I don't think so." She grinned, patted his cheek once more and left him alone.

Harry chuckled, slightly shocked, and grabbed himself an apple. He hopped out to the backyard, which was surprisingly deserted. Only Fred and George, discussing some new product, were present.

Fred shook his head strongly. "What do ya mean, green's stupid?"

"People love green!"

"So?"

"So, nobody'd give a damn if their hair turned green, they'd just laugh and leave it!"

"And _puce_ is so much better? It's not even a damn real color, mate!"

"You're barking mad, you are."

"You and I are identical; if I'm mad, you are."

They spotted Harry and grinned the identical grins that made Sev cringe.

George stood up, swept over to Harry in a gesture very obviously mocking Snape, put his arm around his shoulder, and led him to the bench the two twins had been sitting on. "Harry, my boy, how'd you like to be the first to try our newest product?"

Harry, chuckling, ducked out from George's arm. "No thanks, I don't want my hair to turn green or puce or some such color."

Fred nodded sagely. "Some such color, he says. The Professor's wearing off on him."

"Wearing off on him, rubbing off on him, same thing, I think." George ducked behind Fred, expecting a hex from Harry but not finding it.

Harry considered grabbing his broom from the shed and going off by himself for a while, but Severus had a very bad habit of waking up exactly when Harry didn't want him to, so he decided against it. Instead, he left the twins behind and went down to the little pond, still inside of the wards, already hearing the twins begin arguing.

Sirius sat morosely on the shore, throwing small rocks in and watching the rings, not trying to skip them or even look interested. Harry took a rock out of his hand and skipped it across the water, grinning as Sirius muttered, "showoff."

He took a seat next to his godfather. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing." Sirius lobbed a larger rock into the water, and ducked from the splash.

"Bloody liar, you are." Harry could still hear the twins in the background, fighting passionately about colors.

"Moony's getting married."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "That's bloody brilliant! To who?"

"Tonks."

"Really?" Harry nodded. "I don't get why this is a bad thing."

Sirius shrugged. "'S not."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Wow, so you're just being melodramatic?"

"Just made me think a bit…"

"Sirius, do you…_like _Moony?"

Sirius gave him an incredulous look, and pushed him over. "Hell no."

Harry chuckled. "Fine, fine. So what's up?"

"Remus is getting married, your dad was married, you might as well be…and I'm bloody alone."

Harry suddenly had the very pleasant image of a gold band on his finger, and thought about it for a minute before speaking again. "I don't know what to tell you, Sirius. I'm not a match maker."

"I don't think I'd want to be matched up with anybody you could give me."

Harry bit his lip to keep from laughing. "I do know girls, you know."

"Weird girls."

The two sat in silence. Harry was at a loss.

Sirius picked up his glass from the gravel next to him and took a sip.

Harry looked at the amber liquid. "Brandy's a hero's drink."

Sirius, suddenly, broke out laughing.

Harry, slightly offended, stood up. "What?"

Sirius choked on laughter, and had to wait a little longer before replying. "This is whisky."

Harry's cheeks burned slightly.

"Whisky's for cowards, Harry."

"You're not a coward."

"Like hell I'm not. I can't do anything at all for the Order, since I'm a damn fugitive, so I sit here all day while people are being murdered. I'm bloody useless."

"No, you're not."

"I am. And what kind of godfather am I? A bloody drunk, that's what I am. Didn't teach you anything at all. Failed in my godfatherly duties."

Harry bit his lip again. "Teach me something then."

"Like what? How to pick up girls? What to drink and what not to? How to use the Marauder's Map? I missed my chance." His drink was empty, and he resumed throwing rocks. "Snape can teach you lots more than I can."

"Sirius, is it possible I could learn to be an Animagus?"

He shrugged. "Possible, I guess. Bloody likely, actually. Takes some work, though. Dangerous."

"Teach me that."

"I bet James twenty Galleons right after you were born that you'd be a dog."

"Still think so?"

"Yeah…I think so. Might be a stag, I don't know. Maybe a bird. We'd have to keep you unregistered; wouldn't want the Death Eaters to find out."

"No, course not. Teach me, Sirius!" Harry had just started this to make Sirius happy again, but know it sounded like a pretty brilliant idea.

"I don't know. It was rough on us…I'll think about it, okay? Ask Snape what he thinks. Wouldn't want him to kick my arse for teaching you dangerous magic."

"Okay."

Sirius looked up at the sky suddenly. "Full moon's in just a few days."

"Lupin's been taking his potion, hasn't he?"

"Tonks has kept after him."

"How's Tonks feel about the whole marrying a werewolf thing?"

"Pretty good. She's hopelessly in love with 'im, doesn't care if he turns into a wolf once a month. Keeps asking me to teach her to be an Animagus, wants to go running off with him at the full moon."

"Teach her. Then teach me."

"You have to ask Snape; she's got to get Moony's permission. It's dangerous stuff, you know, not to be messed around with."

"Fine, I'll ask Sev. But Tonks is a big girl, you should teach her."

Sirius shoved him again. He stared morosely at his glass, already feeling sober. That was the problem with drinking too much – you got used to it, so you had to drink more, but it still wore off mad fast.

Harry heard his name shouted from the house and turned around. Fred – or George, he couldn't tell from this distance – was waving his hand. "Harry! Snape's gonna have a bloody heart attack – thinks you were kidnapped or something!" The twins dissolved into laughter. The other – probably George – managed to look back up. "Oh, and it's time for lunch."

Harry rolled his eyes and trekked back to the house, catching a sight of a rather bitter looking Sev in the window, and tried not to laugh.

He shouted up the stairs for Severus to come down, the smells from the kitchen making the walk upstairs seem unnecessarily delaying. He did come down, scowling.

Harry bit his lip, still trying not to laugh. "What?"

"I did not think you were kidnapped."

"I'm sure you didn't. But don't pretend you didn't freak out when you woke up and I wasn't there."

"Don't flatter yourself." But on the way to the kitchen, Severus laid his hand on the back of Harry's neck in a decidedly friendly gesture, and Harry grinned.

He followed Sev into the kitchen and grabbed a plate. "Sev?"

"Yes?"

"Can Sirius teach me to be an Animagus?"

He raised an eyebrow. "You expect me to trust the drunk out by the lake with teaching you extremely difficult magic? I think not."

"Come on, I'll make sure he's sober when he does. And he might teach Tonks, too."

Tonks, who was back for guard duty with Remus that night, grinned, and her hair grew lighter. "Did he say he would?"

"Soon as Moony agrees."

"Hear that, Remus?"

"I heard." He smiled, looking tired as he always did near the full moon.

Harry started, remembering what Sirius had told him and spotting Tonks' ring. "And congratulations, you two."

Tonks shook her head at Remus. "Why do we tell Sirius things? He's such a bad secret keeper."

"Ah, that's all right." Remus took her hand. "And thank you, Harry."

Harry, despite his attempts to stay relatively calm, was nearly bouncing. "When's the wedding?"

Tonks grinned, and her hair turned back to her favorite shade of purple. "I'm thinking spring."

"That's so long!"

Severus laid a hand on his shoulder. "Calm yourself, honestly."

Remus chuckled secretly. "Yes, I'm sure you won't be able to contain yourself – you'll have to get married before us."

Harry raised an eyebrow at Severus, who rolled his eyes. "What?"

"You and your love of big ceremonies."

"I think it'd be nice."

"Later, please."

Harry bit his lip, slightly off put, and tucked into his dinner.

Tonks, perhaps with the instinct of one person in love to another, sensed the small rift and tried to move the conversation to other places, but Harry and Severus weren't listening, Remus was tired, and the Weasley parents had their own problems – mainly their two disgusted younger children to control.

Just after lunch had ended, a flustered Arthur stomped in; face red with the cold. He brushed the snow off his coat, and absent-mindedly took a plate from Molly. After a few bites, he took a sip of pumpkin juice and gestured to Harry and Severus. "The two of you – have a meeting at the Ministry tomorrow – very hush-hush stuff, not sure what it's about."

Severus rolled his eyes. "More attempts to protect us, I imagine, that will only succeed in annoying us."

The rest of lunch passed in silence after the sting of Severus's remark. Harry was too distracted to scold him, and left the table without waiting for Severus, a fact that made the taller man follow him silently just a moment later. Food could wait, an upset Harry Potter was much more important.

Snape knocked on the mostly closed door softly, but didn't wait for an acknowledgement – probably best, as he most likely wouldn't get one. Harry was sitting at the window, his fingers absently tracing the ring finger of his left hand.

"Is something the matter?"

He shrugged. "I'd like to get married."

"I don't see why."

"It'd be nice, that's all. You knew what you were getting in to – I'm a romantic at heart."

"Please, boy, you're a romantic everywhere, not just in your heart. And I see no particular necessity for marriage. What would it change?"

"It'd just be nice. I'd like it."

"Do you want me to propose to you, Harry?"

He turned around, eyes flashing. "Don't say it like that."

"I wasn't aware I said it in any particular way."

"Like it's such a bloody chore."

"Getting married would be."

Harry turned back around.

"I'd have to stand in front of tons of people who don't like me, would prefer I was _dead_, and act like I was happy-"

Harry's mouth dropped open, but Sev couldn't see it. "Are you saying you're not happy with me?"

"That's not what I meant, Harry, and you know it – I would not be happy in a big romantic wedding."

"But I would."

"And I have to bend over backwards all for you? Despite what you may think, Harry, not everything revolves around you." Harry opened his mouth to speak, but Severus shook his head. "_Listen_. Other people have difficulties, you know. You're selfish. I've been tortured more than you have – don't act like you don't know that. Harry, _I fucking love you._" Harry jumped – it was most unlike Severus to swear unless they were having sex. "But you are the most difficult person I have ever met. Sometimes – you are more like your father than you know. And that is not a compliment. Whatever family loyalty you feel for him, you must understand that he was not a good-hearted person. You've seen my memories. You are, most of the time, inherently better than him. But it shows through at times. You think you have the monopoly on pain and suffering, and let me tell you, Potter, you don't-" He stopped short. "I'm sorry, Harry."

"We're back to Potter now, huh?" Harry was strangely calm now.

"Perhaps I ought to go."

"At least for tonight."

"I can't leave, you know. Dumbledore will have Aurors after me in minutes."

"Find somewhere else to sleep in this house – just for a little while."

"Harry, I've been rejected before – they always say it's just for a little while."

"Sev, what are you saying?"

"Nothing you're not." He left the room, leaving Harry flustered and upset.

!*!*!*!

Severus found himself an empty room, probably meant for one of the older Weasleys – most likely Percy, judging from the contents. He didn't bother asking for permission to use the room, not wanting Molly to pity him. He rolled himself up in the blankets, but felt empty. Even though the day was young, he shut his eyes.

But he couldn't sleep without the cover-hogging boy beside him.

!*!*!*!

Harry slipped down stairs for dinner later and was glad no one questioned Severus's absence. Sirius tried to engage him in conversation, but let him slink back to his room, not sure what was wrong but knowing _something _was.

Harry tried to get comfortable, turning in early for his meeting at the Ministry early next morning, but something didn't feel right. He moved a pillow behind his back, but without the dark hair falling on the back of his neck, it took him a long time to fall asleep.

!*!*!*!

Arthur shook Harry awake early the next morning. He dressed – slowly, not used to having totally privacy and finding he didn't like it – and went down for breakfast. Severus was already awake and sipping tea, with darker circles than usual under his eyes. It took every ounce of self control he had not to kiss the poor man right then and there. When the cool eyes met his, he remembered he was angry and took a seat.

Molly brought coffee out, and Harry gladly accepted a mug. Being woke up before seven with very little sleep didn't make him very hospitable, and yelling at Ministry workers might not be the best idea.

The two angry lovers were piled into the back of Arthur's car – even though it was magically expanded, it still felt too close. They sat far apart and didn't speak. Arthur tried to fill the silence, but he gave up trying and turned the WWN on.

A frightened voice floated out of the speakers. _"We have the displeasure of informing you that You-Know-Who has struck again – this time near Ottery St. Catchpole, widely believed to be where Harry Potter is spending his winter hols."_

Harry leaned forward in his seat slightly.

"_The victim is one Chris Fawcett, a member of a prominent family in the area. His family is being informed as we speak. This is just another killing in a line of murders, mostly in areas where Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, still believed to be You-Know-Who's prime target, is involved or is staying, such as the killing of several Muggles who attended primary school with Mr. Potter in Little Whinging. The Muggle police are attempting to find leads – which they obviously won't – and are even more surprised by the fact that several witnesses who saw the killing happen now have no recollection of the event, and have mostly likely been Obliviated."_

Arthur shook his head and nearly swerved into incoming traffic in doing so. "Bad business…the Ministry will be a wreck."

"_Harry Potter's actual defenses are unknown, obviously, as a matter of security, but it has been suggested by Albus Dumbledore, a close friend of the Boy Who Lived, that a very capable teacher is protecting him."_

Snape snorted.

"_This teacher's identity is in question, but he is widely believed to be Severus Snape, mostly due to a surprisingly well researched article in _The Quibbler_. All of the following facts have been double-checked. The article states that Snape, the potions master at Hogwarts, is not only protecting Harry from You-Know-Who, but hiding from him himself, for reasons unknown, but, again, widely believed to have something to do with espionage."_

Snape rolled his eyes and spoke for the first time that day. "Or maybe the bloody Dark Mark on my arm."

"_There are also less-confirmed rumors of a, uh…_relationship_ between Professor Snape and Mr. Potter. People have brought it up before, but it has not been confirmed by Snape, Potter or Dumbledore. We'll keep you posting on all developments concerning Harry Potter or You-Know-Who."_

A poppy Muggle song played next.

They walked into the Ministry via the public entrances – which made Arthur quite excited. They were checked in and brought to the Minister's personal office, where he was, of course, not there.

They sat for an indescribable amount of time waiting for him. Harry amused himself by burning little holes in the carpet, which made both Severus and Arthur stare at him, and Arthur reproach him for being childish, but if he was gonna have to be the bloody Boy Who Lived, he was going to be like he wanted to be.

The Minister finally shuffled in, looking with alarm at the holes in the carpet, but didn't mention them to Harry, who tried his best to look innocent. Arthur left them alone, pleading some sort of business, but he probably just didn't want to be involved in this awkward conversation.

Fudge gave the two a strange look. According to his latest conversations with Dumbledore, as much as he despised them, these two were lovers – yet they were sitting as far apart as possible in the small room, and not looking at each other. He tried to appear cheerful. "Hello, Harry, Severus. How have you been?"

Harry shrugged, determined to act childish.

Severus rolled his eyes. "As well as is to be expected, Minister."

He bit his lip. This might be more difficult than he imagined. "I'll just get right to business, then. I suppose you've heard about the latest killings?"

Harry continued tapping his foot to the rhythm of the Muggle song he'd heard in the car.

Severus raised an eyebrow in Harry's general direction, still determined to be mad at him. "The fact that we heard about them on the radio raises some concerns – like how the press was informed before we were, when the intelligence concerned us so greatly."

"Well, several of us thought it was best to-"

"Keep us in the dark because I'm not to be trusted?" Normally, Snape thought, Harry would interrupt idiotic bureaucrats, but as he seemed to not be speaking today, the job would have to fall to him.

Fudge lightly mopped his forehead. "Of course not, Severus; you are a great help to the cause; why wouldn't we trust you?"

"Maybe this?" Snape pulled his sleeve up to display his Dark Mark, which was clearly dark and searing.

Fudge both leaned towards and away from the hated Mark – it was probably the first time he'd seen one so close up – which resulted in him almost toppling his chair. "You're still called?"

"A serious design flaw in the magical ink, so yes."

Harry's eyes involuntarily strayed to the Mark, and his eyes drifted shut.

Since Severus clearly didn't have to be nice to Harry today, he sent a mild Stinging Hex at the back of the boy's neck, making him curse. "Pay attention." He stopped short of saying either of the boy's names, determined not to make Harry any angrier, but also not to apologize. Harry, grudgingly, sat up a little straighter.

Fudge watched the exchange with fascination, and couldn't control himself. "I'm currently questioning Albus' sanity. He told me the two of you were lovers; silly, right?"

Severus raised an eyebrow; Harry blew his bangs out of his eyes. The two stared at the increasingly embarrassed Minister.

Snape's smirk made Cornelius feel like a schoolboy again, and he squirmed in his seat. "I would use that term to describe Harry and myself; perhaps you were confused because of our conduct today. We may be having a little spat."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Little…"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Anything I could do?" The Minister mopped his forehead again, and prayed that his secretary wasn't listening.

"I don't imagine so." Snape's smirk hadn't left his face yet.

"Oh, well, back to business then. As you've heard, You-Know-Who is on the move again and is quite close to where you are staying for the holidays. For now, we see no immediate need to move you back to Hogwarts, but the guard will be stepped up, and, if you have no objections, several Dementors will be placed in the surrounding area."

"Dementors aren't wise." Snape had pulled his sleeve back down, but his fingers involuntarily strayed there as the Mark continued to burn.

"Why not?" Fudge was genuinely confused.

"The Dark Lord will soon have control over them."

"You-Know-Who will never get the Dementors; they're strictly ours."

"As you ought to be aware by now, the Dark Lord never does what you think he will."

The two stared each other down, Harry simply sitting off to the side, bored. Fudge eventually nodded. "No Dementors."

"But Aurors, yes – _please_, for my sanity, send somebody who would put up a good fight."

"Would you like to duel all the prospective candidates, Severus?" The Minister, who had been joking, was horrified when Snape nodded.

"I think that'd be best."

The Minister couldn't think of a way to take back his insincere offer, so he simply nodded. "Most of the Aurors are at the Ministry today; perhaps you'd like to adjourn for lunch and then meet them?"

"Sounds alright." Snape nodded, and shot a look at Harry, who looked at the Minister for the first time.

"What's for lunch?"

"I believe it's chicken noodle soup today."

Harry made a face.

The Minister's handkerchief was nearly soaked through, but he wiped his forehead yet again. "If you'd like, I can bring a few Aurors to take you out."

"Please." Harry brushed some ash off his shoes from the holes in the carpet and stood up.

The Minister followed suit, shook hands with Harry and turned to Severus, who stuck out his left arm.

Harry, who knew perfectly well Severus wasn't left-handed, rolled his eyes.

Fudge, who remembered very well the Dark Mark under that sleeve, took his hand gingerly and then rushed out.

Harry sighed dramatically. Snape raised an eyebrow and remained sitting.

Several awkward minutes passed until two Aurors appeared – likely such a small number because Fudge figured any Death Eater should be more afraid of Severus than any Ministry employee, and rightly so.

Harry brightened up then, whether at the prospect of food, or his love for Aurors, or maybe the way the younger of the men had smiled at him, Snape didn't know. He followed them out, imagining ways to humiliate the handsome young Auror that slowly got worse and worse as he and Harry stood closer.

They went to a Muggle shop and bought fish and chips. Severus ate very little of the greasy food, and mostly drank coffee. He stared longingly at the little liquor shop across the street, but didn't want to leave Harry long enough for him to snog the young man (whose name Snape had forgotten again).

When Harry had finished stuffing himself with an ungodly amount of food, they all began the trek back to the Ministry. Snape didn't like these Aurors. They seemed too on edge and nervous. He was confident he could beat them both in a duel, at the same time, even.

The two were led to a practice range, where a large number of Aurors were assembled. Severus grinned evilly, pointing to the young man Harry had been flirting with. "You first." The Auror swallowed hard, but confirmed Severus's suspicions that he must be a Gryffindor by getting on the range and shaking his hand.

On the count of three by another Auror, Snape cast Expelliarmus, followed by a silent spell from his Half-Blood Prince days, floating the Auror up to the ceiling and leaving him there. He smirked at Harry and then at the audience, who had subconsciously taken a few steps back.

!*!*!*!

Barely an hour later, Severus had dueled every Auror in the room – mostly trainees, but _honestly_ – and beaten every one.

The Auror on the ceiling had long since stopped yelling for anyone to get him down, so he was surprised when Snape himself took him down, even giving him a Cushioning Charm to land on. Harry rushed over to him. Snape discussed which of the Aurors were the least helpless with a senior member, and soon had a relatively safe schedule mapped out, placing the trainees with members of the Order.

Snape stood at the door. "Harry, we're leaving. Now."

He stuck his tongue out at Severus and resumed talking to that stupid Auror.

"Do you want to end up on the ceiling like your friend?"

Harry sighed tragically, and stood up. He followed Severus out of the room submissively enough, but then he started to complain.

"Honestly, I don't believe you. You were mean to all of them."

"I thought you weren't talking to me."

"Like I can do that. Anyway, you had to put him on the _ceiling_?"

"_I _think it was funny."

"You are so jealous."

"You don't seem to want me anymore, so I have no reason to be jealous."

Harry stopped dead in his tracks. "Who said I don't want you anymore?"

"You did."

"I did not." He walked around in front of Severus, leaning up on his tiptoes to look in his eyes. "_Never _did I say that."

"Perhaps not outright."

"Severus Snape, what is the matter with you?"

"Nothing."

"Liar."

"You said I should find somewhere else to sleep."

Harry raised his eyebrows incredulously. "For one night. So I could calm down a bit."

"Really."

"Yes!" Harry looked back at his eyes. "Sev, do you really think I could quit you that easily?"

"I don't see why not. You were flirting with that Auror alright."

"_Sev_…" Harry sighed. "I was _trying _to make you mad."

"With a handsome young man."

"I don't know; he wasn't really my type."

"The fact that he ogled your arse every time you turned around suggests _you_ are _his _type."

"Sev, look in a mirror, and then you'll see my type."

"So old, angry Death Eaters?"

"_Ex_-Death Eaters. And you're not _that _old and you're not ugly."

Severus remained silent.

Harry sighed again. "You are insanely stubborn."

He grinned. "And you're not?"

The two stared at each other again, and then, oblivious to the fact that they were standing in a relatively highly populated corridor, were kissing. It was impossible to say who started it.

!*!*!*!

After a few hurried Ministry workers running into them, they left for home, taking the Floo this time, since Arthur would have to work for a while later. Molly had gone out with the other Weasleys, and the small guard was just Remus, Tonks, and Sirius, so Harry and Snape snuck upstairs.

Snape sat down, but Harry remained standing. He stared expectantly at Severus, who raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"I think we need to talk about what happened before…anything."

"Can't we leave it alone?"

"No." Harry glared at Snape, who reclined slightly.

"Go for it."

Harry smiled. "Okay. Well, I still stand by what I said, that I would like to get married. And, even if I like big ceremonies, I'll get my fill with Moony and Tonks' wedding, so we could just have something small. Just close friends. A little, simple thing. You could wear your teaching robes for all I care. There won't be a million flowers, there will be whisky, and if you want to be drunk through it, go for it, but you'll have to be sober through the honeymoon."

"Honeymoon?"

Harry cocked his head at Snape's surprised tone. "What?"

"Honeymoons are for couples to lose their virginity."

"So?"

"Harry, that's been gone a long time."

"Well, we'd just go on a little trip – we wouldn't even have to leave the country if you don't want to."

"And take Aurors with us?"

Harry's face fell. "I hadn't thought of that."

"You'll have to defeat the Dark Lord first. And, another little flaw in your plan, what about Lupin makes you think he'll have a fancy wedding?"

"Well…I figured Tonks-"

"Would take care of that? The sad thing is, you're probably right."

Harry took a seat next to Severus on the bed. "How'd you sleep last night?"

He tried to remain expressionless. "Fine."

"I didn't sleep at all."

"Neither did I."

The two lapsed into contented silence, until Harry moved closer to Severus. "It's only three."

"The Weasley brood might be gone a while longer."

"There's a Silencing Charm on the room."

"Pity to not make use of that."

!*!*!*!

Harry woke up when Molly called them to dinner. He took one look at himself and ran for the shower, waking Sev up as he went.

!*!*!*!

Dinner was a much more pleasant affair that night, with Harry and Severus talking amicably, and everyone else noting it. Ron and Ginny rolled their eyes and left the table as soon as possible, but everyone else stayed – probably more for Harry's company than Severus, but the two were an inseparable pair once more.

They listened to the WWN after dinner. The same person as earlier recapped the day's news. Severus's fingers worried at his left sleeve through out the full broadcast.

"_There was yet another murder in Ottery St. Catchpole today. The victim's identity is being held for now, but it seems quite likely he is a foreigner. An Auror at the scene expressed increasing anxiety at the random quality of the murders, and stressed that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named must be stopped at all costs. As Harry Potter is in hiding for his own safety, he was unavailable for comment. Albus Dumbledore simply said that an organization called the Order of the Phoenix, relatively unknown to most civilians, is working on keeping _mankind _safe – Dumbledore stressed that."_

The broadcast went on and on, with trivial facts that most of the household had known for weeks.

As the broadcast wound to an end, Severus became aware he was touching his left forearm again, and dropped his hand, tapping his fingers. Harry grabbed it. It was a sign of the severity of the times that neither Ron nor Ginny so much as rolled their eyes.

"_As we sign off tonight, we have one thing to say: stay safe. This is not a time for foolish bravery. Sometimes it's best to leave the fighting to the professionals. But I want to also counter that. If you have a particular skill helpful in combat, the Order of the Phoenix could use your help. Albus Dumbledore urges you to contact him, preferably by Floo. Goodnight, all. We'll be back tomorrow with another recap of the day's news. Stay safe."_

The conversation in the household couldn't quite recover after that. The silence of the house frightened everyone in it, and they tried to counter it, but the fear was only too evident in their movements, so all of them turned in early.

Harry and Severus sat up for a while in their room, talking, but it was only when they were going to bed that Severus noticed the look in Harry's eyes. "Harry?"

"I'm scared."

Snape found himself with an armful of frightened Harry. He wrapped his arms around him tight.

Until Harry fell asleep, he held himself close to Severus and traced the Dark Mark through his lover's sleeve.

"What's going to happen, Sev?"

"Honestly, Harry? I don't know."

_(AN: I hope this made up for my shameful lapse in writing. The next chapter will pick up on the fourth morning of winter hols. The final confrontation is coming. That's all I want to say right now about it. Please review!)_


	15. Chapter 15

It's Purely Carnal

Chapter Fifteen

After the recent killings in the area, security was even tighter on the Burrow. Snape owled Dumbledore _again_ to plead – with dignity, of course – to be moved back to Hogwarts, not only for the safety, but also because the Weasleys were becoming unbearable. Harry and Severus weren't allowed out of the house without an Auror guard, which both thought ruined the trip, so they stayed in the kitchen alone, waiting for the morning _Prophet_. Up until now, they'd been throwing it away for the lack of well researched facts that hadn't been common knowledge for weeks. However, after the danger, they decided it was best to check it.

They sat with a few Knuts for the bird in an uneasy silence; both felt like something was going to _happen_, and it wouldn't be good.

Harry jumped up; he saw an owl. When it got closer, it obviously didn't bring the _Prophet_; in fact, it looked like a Howler. It dropped onto the kitchen table and the owl flew away. The red envelope, already smoking, was jointly addressed to Severus Snape and Harry Potter. Harry was the one to open it, and it starting shrieking in an unfamiliar feminine voice.

"THE TWO OF YOU ARE A BLIGHT ON ENGLAND AND ON WIZARDING KIND! YOU SHOULD NEVER DARE TO SHOW YOUR FACES AGAIN – MOVE TO AMERICA OR SOME OTHER COUNTRY, BUT LEAVE BRITAIN ALONE. I'D LIKE TO TEAR YOUR PRICKS OFF WITH MY BARE HANDS-"

It stopped shouting, and Harry looked up in surprise. Severus, his face paler than usual, with two red spots of anger on his cheeks, had incinerated the letter.

Harry brushed the ash off the table. "What in bloody hell was that all about?"

Soon, there was a brood of Weasleys in the kitchen wondering the same thing. In the chaos, the _Prophet_ owl dropped the paper onto Harry's head and hooted mournfully. Severus gave him the coins, and Harry opened the paper.

His eyes widened at the headline. Severus grabbed the paper out of his hands, and cursing loudly, threw it down. All the members of the household scrambled to look at it. Arthur picked it up, and started reading out loud.

"THE BOY WHO LIVED SPOTTED KISSING DEATH EATER."

"_Ex _-Death Eater," both Harry and Snape muttered.

"By…Rita Skeeter."

Everyone groaned. Severus looked murderous. "I should have known that wench was behind it."

Harry chuckled nervously. "Behind what? Most of it is probably true."

Arthur cleared his throat and went on reading. "Harry Potter, his cheeks flushed with passion, was recently photographed having a steamy moment alone with, of all people, a _Death Eater_. The blackguard is Severus Snape, a well-known poison maker and spy with a sort of rakish charm, generally believed to be guilty of crimes against Wizards and Muggle alike, and deserving of a life sentence in Azkaban. However, something must have caught Harry's eye, as the two look very…interested in each other."

The picture, which, along with the headline, went all the way to the fold, did show Harry and Severus quite interested in each other, apparently enough not to notice the flash.

"You can even see the tip of Snape's Dark Mark, still very much there."

"Doesn't she know it doesn't come off?"

"Shh, let him finish."

"The two were at the Ministry for an unknown meeting, but it is known that Snape spent most of the day in a fight with Aurors. A young source, Steven, told us all about it."

"Steven! That's the Auror I – never mind."

"That's the Auror you were shamelessly flirting with?"

"Shh!"

"'The Death Eater was dueling us all, and he put me on the ceiling. Maybe he just wanted to get some kind of idea as to what our strengths were, so he could go tell He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.' After the duel, the two left the Ministry, but not before sharing this kiss."

"Well, that's not so-"

"Shh! Is there more?"

"Has Harry Potter finally gone round the bend? Have the pressures of being _Harry Potter _caused him to forget who he really is, to the point that he starts kissing Death Eaters? Is he under the Imperius Curse? Is this, perhaps, all past of You-Know-Who's master plan? This writer, and her readers, eagerly awaits a comment from Harry or Snape."

Harry incinerated a couple of Howlers that had landed while Arthur was reading, and grinned. "This should be fun. Hey, Sev, you wanna go have sex in the Atrium? Give them something else _steamy_ to gossip about?"

In the resulting panic, when Sirius choked on his coffee and Ron broke his glass, Severus simply stared. When it quieted down, he spoke. "You're not taking this seriously. Why am I surprised that you're not concerned?" Another Howler flew in. "How are these ruddy things getting in here anyway? Isn't the mail searched?"

Arthur nodded. "Searched, but only the harmful stuff is left out."

"This isn't harmful?" Severus set that one on fire too.

"No, not in perspective…"

Harry, after scanning the paper for anything interesting, handed it to Severus, who lit it on fire too, taking a certain amount of satisfaction at watching Skeeter's bio picture burn.

"Sev, let's write a letter to the editor!"

"And say what? We want Skeeter shot?"

"Come on, let's!"

"We're supposed to be in hiding."

"Not anymore. Everyone's gonna know about this."

"We're still in hiding."

"Let's write a letter. You're good at sarcasm and snarky stuff."

Snape hesitated, then nodded, the temptation to humiliate Skeeter too great. "All right."

The two slipped into their room, where Harry's laughter and Snape's self-satisfied tones were heard until lunch.

!*!*!*!

"Dear Rita Skeeter, thank you ever_ so _much for printing that wonderful picture. I think it really highlights me and Severus's good sides, don't you think? However, you got a few little facts wrong, so I thought I'd correct you. We didn't leave the Ministry right after the kiss; couldn't leave an act unfinished. I can't tell you where, 'cause I really don't know, but, _damn_, they're self-centered. Pictures of some blond chick in green robes with long nails all over the place. I like her chair, though. Nice, big enough for two. I also want to make it clear that Sevvie put _several _people on the ceiling, not just dear Steven, as much as he wants to look special. Sev is also very much _reformed_, an ex-Death Eater, if you will. And I am not under the Imperius Curse; I just _love _him _so _much. Sorry, I must go; Sev wants me to take my potion for the night. Ta, Rita! Love, Harry Potter."

In the laughter and comments that followed that followed ('God, Harry, how much gayer could you be?,' '_Sevvie_?,' 'She's gonna have to buy all new furniture'), Severus held up his hand. "I want to add something. Harry, give me the parchment." He scribbled something down and handed it back. "Out loud, please."

Harry looked confused, but did it. "PS: Ms. Skeeter, we'd appreciate it if you were to write…our…" Harry broke off mid-sentence and hugged Severus almost violently, leaving everyone clambering for the parchment.

George came out on top and read it in a loud voice. "PS: Ms. Skeeter, we'd appreciate it if you were to write our wedding announcement. –S." The room was suddenly silent.

Severus whispered into Harry's ear. "I won't get down on one knee, but I do have a ring." He pushed Harry away from him and rummaged in his pocket. He opened the little box. "Yes or no, Harry?"

Fred tapped Snape on the shoulder. "You haven't asked him anything yet."

He sighed, melodramatic as always. "Alright, alright. Harry James Potter, will you marry me or not?" A few people chuckled.

Harry kissed him suddenly.

Bill whistled. "I'd say that's a yes."

When Severus remembered it, he slipped the simple gold band on Harry's finger, leaving him beaming. People rushed over to congratulate them.

Molly was openly sobbing tears of happiness, and hugged Severus – he stood awkwardly, frequently looking at Harry as if he expected help with this hysterical woman. He got the last laugh when Molly grabbed Harry too, however.

Arthur clapped the two on the back hesitantly, then ran to help Molly with the champagne.

Bill whispered something to Harry that he refused to repeat, but made Harry blush violently and Severus glare.

Charlie shouted from across the room, "I don't suppose you want a dragon for a wedding present?"

Percy nodded solemnly. "Congratulations."

Fred and George looked devious, but grinned. "Can you get married? Isn't that kinda…"

"Pedophile-ish?"

"I'm over sixteen. With parental approval, I can do whatever the hell I want!"

Even Ron and Ginny were still in the room, scowling, but still in the room.

Remus and Tonks, a newly engaged couple themselves, were beaming. Remus was tiring quickly; the full moon was approaching. He grinned anyway. "Congratulations, Harry." They shook hands, then Harry pulled Moony into a hug. Tonks hugged him too, her hair gold with happiness.

The other Aurors were polite, but they weren't much interested in weddings.

Sirius came up last.

Harry grinned. "Is that a tear I see?"

Sirius growled, and swiped at his eyes. "I don't know what you're talking about. I'm really happy for you."

"Is it a happy tear, then?"

"Could be, pup. Could be. Congrats. Molly! Where's the champagne?" The two hugged as Molly and Arthur floated a tray of little glasses out, giving one to each person. They drank a toast ('To Harry and…Severus!').

Harry couldn't keep his fingers off his ring. Severus noticed. "Is it too big?"

"A little. It's okay, though, I love it."

"Don't be silly, I'll just have it resized."

"You mean I have to take it off?"

"I think it's best if the goblins that made it do it."

"…Alright. But not yet. I want Skeeter to get a picture of it first."

"Just don't lose it."

"I won't."

The two kissed.

!*!*!*!

The letter to the editor had been sent out in time to make the evening edition, where it joined a quick bio of Harry and Snape, with grossly wrong facts. More Howlers appeared throughout the day, but not all of the mail was bad. Harry was not ashamed to admit that he cried while reading one of the letters, which was from a little girl in Hogsmeade. She said that her two daddies had kissed over breakfast and walked down the street holding hands after reading the paper, and she was proud of them – all of them. Severus pretended to be appalled at Harry's tears, but he carefully intercepted the letter from joining the rest of the trash, tucking it into his breast pocket. The two got an astonishing amount of ads for wedding planners, and a nearly as frightening amount of people wanting to come to their bachelor parties. A card came from Dumbledore, stuffed with lemon drops and Chocolate Frogs. A large card came from the rest of the teachers at Hogwarts, with Minerva stating that she had never taught a married student before; even if it _was_ legal (Trelawney added that she _knew_ this would happen, and Severus made sure that she was not allowed to come to the wedding).

The press appeared about dinnertime, and Harry made sure to show them his ring. When he was positive they had gotten a good clear picture of it, he grinned and shut the curtains.

Severus sat down next to him. "May I have it resized for you now? It shouldn't take more than a day."

"I guess. I don't want to take it off."

"What if I give you something to wear while you wait?"

Harry cocked his head. "Like what?"

"An old family heirloom."

"…Okay."

Severus mumbled a quick Accio, and grabbed the box out of mid-air. He pulled the ring out.

"It's gorgeous."

"You can wear it while you wait for this to be resized."

"Okay."

Harry exchanged rings, holding on to his for a moment longer, and then slipping the heirloom on. It was more ornate than his – an emerald, with a silver design of a snake rolling around the edge. "It's beautiful."

"You sound…upset."

"Well…it's not _my _ring, you know? I'm imagining your correspondence with the jeweler, and picking it out, and…that makes it special."

"I did send a Howler."

Harry chuckled. "I'm not surprised."

"It's just until it's resized, you know. You've barely had it half a day; there's no reason to be so attached."

"I know I'm being silly. Send it off quick, and use a Howler if you have – get it done quickly."

"Goblins react less well to Howlers than witches. However, I'll send it off now, if it will calm you. Let me measure your finger."

As Severus measured it, Harry cocked his head. "Why didn't you do this in the first place?"

He gave Harry the Look – the 'how much more obvious do I need to be?' look. "Then it wouldn't have been a surprise."

"True."

"Done." Severus Accio'd some parchment and a quill and penned a quick note. He stuck the ring on with a Sticking Charm. Harry opened the window and whistled for the owl, who put his leg up to let Snape tie the note on. Harry watched the owl fly off. When it was out of sight, he turned around and kissed Severus softly. "I love you."

He smiled, a rare sight. "And I you."

_(AN: Now, I know what you're thinking. Fluff again? What's going to actually happen? BUT, this does contribute something to the actual plot – if anyone guesses right, I'll give them…something amazing. Let me clear up a few little things too. I'm assuming, because 17 is when you become an adult in the Wizarding world, that 16 could be the age of consent. I'm sketchy on laws, but I'm gonna go with it because it's a damn cute story and is important to the overall plot. Also, I think I fucked up the timeline again. Harry's sixteen. That's all I know. I won't even try to put it into book terms, it's so AU. The _Prophet_ also probably ought not to be at the Ministry, so perhaps Rita Skeeter just has an office there? Official Government Correspondent, maybe, as terrifying as that title is when applied to Skeeter. Please review!)_


	16. Chapter 16

It's Purely Carnal

Chapter 16

Harry sat up in bed, Severus in a chair nearby, reading. It was nearing ten o'clock, still far too early for sleeping, or 'other bed activities,' as Harry called sex when he was trying to be coy. Said boy was fiddling with the heirloom ring. He sighed dramatically, hoping to catch Severus's attention. He was rewarded with a raised eyebrow. "Sev?"

"Yes?"

"Whose ring was this?"

Severus slipped his bookmark in between the pages, sensing an unstoppable tirade of Harry's curiosity coming. "My father's grandfather had it made."

"Why doesn't it move? Usually Wizarding jewelry moves." Harry poked the snake tentatively, as if hoping it might come alive.

"It's not Wizarding jewelry." Severus paused, but saw the look on Harry's face. "My great-grandfather, along with my grandfather and my father, were Muggles." Snape could nearly hear the wheels spinning in Harry's head, trying to make that fact fit.

"Sev…don't take this the wrong way, because I don't want to fight – especially not today, newly engaged and all – but that means you're half-blood. Why'd you join Voldemort?"

Snape gave him a Look; one that Harry thought wasn't meant to make him laugh but did anyway. "When I joined the Dark Lord, he was not the raving lunatic he is today. He still had charisma, and knew how to make atrocities sound wonderful. I joined to belong to something. To have a family." He snorted lightly. "That went rather badly, obviously."

Harry cocked his head. "Well, you've got me."

"I suppose I do. The closest thing to family I've ever had."

"What about your parents?" Harry watched Severus's eyes grow darker.

"My so-called parents were by no means fit to call themselves such."

"What do you mean?" Harry reached for his hand.

Severus took it absently. "My father, the Muggle, was named Tobias. He was unaware of my mother Eileen's magic until after he married her, leaving him quite upset with the deceit." He shook his head. "Perhaps I ought not to tell you this. It's…well, not to sound self-pitying, but it's not a happy story."

"But it has a happy ending." Harry smiled brilliantly.

Severus smiled back, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Yes. Alright." He sighed softly. "When my father found out my mother was a witch, the two argued. He hit my mother for the first time. I was young. It frightened me. Hogwarts – which only existed in stories told to me by my mother, when she feeling particularly domestic – seemed to be the only escape." His eyes were dark. "I met your mother when I lived at Spinner's End."

Harry leaned forward. "You knew my mum?"

"…Yes. Very well, in fact. As children, I was her confidante, the one who knew about Hogwarts and was willing to reassure her that she was going to get in, that it didn't matter who her parents were."

"What was she like?"

"Fearless. She used her magic in public parks and ignored her sister's warnings. The first time I met her she was using magic."

"What'd you say to her?"

"I told her she was a witch." Severus paused.

"And?"

"She was offended. No one knew she was a witch yet. No one had contacted her. She was young. Plus, Petunia – your Muggle aunt, I believe – _hated _me. Tried to talk her out of having anything to do with me. But she came back. Asked me to tell her everything I knew about magic, everything about Hogwarts. She knew about my parents – she worried about me. I…Harry, I don't want to tell you this, not tonight." He pleaded with his eyes.

Harry frowned. "Tell me, Severus. Please. It doesn't matter."

"Oh, but it does…" Severus took a deep breath and gripped Harry's hand. "Alright. Harry, I – I loved her. From the moment I met her."

Harry was silent. Severus seemed to take this as a cue to go on.

"She hated James when she met him, hated all of _that _group. She liked me. We stayed friends despite our contradictory Sortings. In fifth year…" He tucked a lock of hair behind his ear. "…things changed. I fell in with men like Avery and Mulciber, having met Lucius Malfoy on my first day in Hogwarts. Pureblood supremacists, the lot of them. Growing up with them, half-blood or not, you picked up things. I had a talent for potions, a talent for the spells that aren't taught in Hogwarts. I put on delusions of grandeur, and invented my own spells. I wouldn't be surprised if a few of them are still taught to first years in the Slytherin common rooms after all these years, not knowing that I created them, of course." He shook his head to get back on topic. "Lily…she didn't appreciate the Dark Magic. And that's what it was, whether I was willing to admit it or not. She saw right past our lies, and knew what we wanted to be. And, seventh year, on my seventeenth birthday – she hated me passionately by then, of course, but she still noticed – she saw me leave the castle, supposedly for a family gathering, perfectly within my rights. But I got this." He grimaced at his left sleeve. "Anyway, fifth year. This is when I believed this group – aspiring Death Eaters, still – would be a family. She hated my group, but still hated Potter and his, so nothing else mattered." Severus's hand tightened around Harry's, avoiding his eyes. "Soon after…Potter, along with Black and the rest of them, attempted to make my life a living hell. They floated me into the air – with my own spell, nonetheless. She defended me. In my…humiliation, I – I called her a Mudblood." He felt Harry's involuntary outrage. "I tried to apologize. I…really hadn't meant it. Not her. But she wanted nothing to do with me. She was tired of being known as the Gryffindor who hung out with Death Eaters." Harry tried to look at Severus's face, but he kept it cast down, studying the carpet. "Later, when the prophecy – the one that led the Dark Lord to want to kill you – was told by Trelawney, I – I defected to Dumbledore; begged him to keep her safe, and, in time, agreed to protect the whole family, you and your father included. Albus guilted me into feeling like slime for not caring about anyone but her. So I promised Albus anything, and, when he assured himself that my loyalty could be kept, he put the house under the Fidelius charm. Well…you know how that went." Harry's free hand drifted off the bed to his scar. "After… I was a wreck. Albus, the bastard, had the guile to tell me of you – of your eyes. I wanted to die. I _felt_ dead. Dumbledore convinced me…to protect you. I was determined from the beginning to dislike you, to _hate _you, in order to keep myself from feeling anything resembling affection for a boy who, as we thought at the time, would die soon enough anyway." Harry started at the coldness of that pronunciation, and Severus's hand gripped his. "Do you know what my Patronus is, Harry?"

He shook his head.

Snape cast one with a shaking hand. The silvery doe looked at Harry, and he felt that it's eyes, if in color, would be green. "The same as my mother's." His voice was hoarse.

"Yes. I spied for Dumbledore only because of your mother. When the Dark Lord threatened her, I was done with him." He sighed. "Now you know." He ran his hand through his hair. "Everything."

Harry sat quietly. He watched Severus's bent head. "Why didn't you tell me this before?"

Severus started. Of all the reactions… "She's dead, Harry." Even after all these years, and with another love in front of him, those words still hurt. "And I didn't want you to think – to assume that I was only interested in you for your eyes." He looked up finally, meeting said eyes.

"I couldn't ever believe that, Sev. I know you too well." Harry, however, did look back down at his hands.

"You're lying. Do you hate me, Harry?"

"How could I hate you?" He lay back, pulling Severus forward onto the bed.

He straightened up, watching the reclining boy. "I was in love with your mother and now I'm engaged to you."

"Well, when you say it like that, it sounds kinda bad…" Harry grinned. Severus didn't. "That doesn't mean I hate you."

"You're upset, Harry; just admit it."

Harry ran a hand through his hair. "Fine. I'm kind of upset you didn't tell me this before."

"Thank you."

Harry gaped. "What do you mean 'thank you'? Most people are not happy to hear that someone's upset with them."

"I'm not most people."

Snape found himself with an armful of warm Harry.

Harry grinned. "No, you're not. I'm not in love with most people, and most people aren't in love with me."

"I'd like to disagree with that last part; you're the Boy Who Lived, and everyone loves you." Snape's rather well thought out argument died there when Harry kissed him.

Harry leaned back. "Shut up, Sev."

"Harry, are you aware that eventually you might be expected to solve your problems without sex?"

"I don't know. I think it's a rather effective way."

Severus rolled his eyes. "Until you try to blow the Minister in order to get Black a Ministry position, or some such nonsense."

"Think that would work?"

Harry's very serious tone startled Snape, until the boy broke out laughing.

"I'm kidding! Sirius wouldn't want to work at the Ministry anyway."

"And the Minister is certainly _not _homosexual."

"I don't know; Fudge is kinda cute…"

Snape stared. "I refuse to even entertain the idea that you are not joking."

"Good; 'cause I am."

"Oh, bloody hell, thank Merlin."

The two sat in amicable silence. Severus was almost ready to pull his book out again, when Harry spoke. "Are we done talking about depressing things for the foreseeable future?"

"If you're referring to the possibility of giving Fudge a blowjob, than yes; I think that topic can stay dead forever."

Harry snorted. "Well, that's good, but no, that's not really what I meant. I meant you loving my mum when she didn't love you back and then died."

Snape winced. "By all means, please don't spare my feelings."

"Sorry." Harry sighed. "Look, I think that know I've heard it all – I hope – and I understand – and it's not a big deal, okay? – so let's leave it alone."

"Whatever will make you comfortable."

"Sev?"

"Yes?"

"Would you ever have told me that if I hadn't asked?"

Snape opened his mouth, then shut it. "Honestly, I don't know."

Harry nodded. "I can live with that. Now, I know we're not really angry at each other, but I'm randy, so we can have angry make up sex anyway?"

!*!*!*!

When the two came down the next morning, Snape looked murderous, and Harry was giggling rather alarmingly. Snape jumped for the scotch and Harry for the sugar.

Harry poured maple syrup all over his hotcakes, and reached for the powdered sugar. "Can you believe the photographers?"

"We will never discuss that outside the two of us." There was a slight flush of color on his cheeks as Severus poured himself a drink.

Sirius sauntered in and grabbed a plate of hotcakes as well, pouring a heart-stopping amount of syrup over them. Severus rolled his eyes. Like godfather, like godson. Now he knew where Harry picked up_ all_ his bad habits, like leaving his socks on the floor.

"Hey, Snape, you know it's morning, right?"

Snape glared menacingly, and took a sip.

Harry giggled again. "Sev's had a rather bad morning."

Mrs. Weasley, who was minding the food, turned around. "What _was_ going on up there, Harry? I heard some shouting."

"Molly, I'm not sure I want to know." Sirius Vanished the handful of powdered sugar Harry tossed at him and chuckled.

"Shut up, Sirius. There was just a couple of _Prophet _photographers who figured out you could see in our window – 'cause I like to look outside, and I can't find a one-way charm – and decided to take some shots. They caught us in a bit of a…compromising situation." Harry laughed, blushing. The Weasleys, the Aurors, Remus, Tonks and Sirius were in various degrees of alarm, depending on how sharp they were.

Snape snarled. "Please burn the _Prophet _when it comes."

"Sev, I don't think burning our _Prophet _will do much good for the rest of them. Plus, they wouldn't dare print that picture, would they? Wouldn't it be too…racy?" Harry blushed, and Sirius choked on his coffee.

"What the hell were you doing in that picture?" Sirius was very obviously suffering from too short of sleep, not enough coffee, and naivety considering his godson.

"Sirius, if you can't guess, we won't tell you. Sev?"

"Rita Skeeter has enough influence at the Ministry to do whatever the hell she pleases." Severus took another dignified sip, and, when Harry looked away, shot another anxious glance at the window, hoping for mass owl plague. But, then again, knowing Skeeter, she'd hand-deliver this scoop.

"I suppose we'll see." Arthur pointed to the little black dot that slowly became an owl.

Severus fought valiantly to get to the window first, but in the chaos, one of the twins grabbed the paper. He crowed happily. "Fred! You owe me twenty Galleons!"

"There's no way they do it face to face!"

Snape, who at some point must have been restrained in order to be kept from killing the twins, was quite flushed by this point.

Sirius looked torn for a minute, then grabbed the paper.

Harry bit his lip to keep from laughing. Sirius looked like he was going to have an aneurism.

When Sirius's eyes returned to his head, he deliberately shut them and held the paper out. Snape lunged for it, but Remus caught it first. Without his wand, Severus might have been helpless for the moment, but they would all pay later.

Tonks leaned up on her toes to look over Remus's shoulder to see the picture, and both whistled identical whistles.

Harry tried to grab the paper, but Remus passed it along. Snape finally managed to grab his wand from one of the Aurors, who cowered into a corner. Snape Accio'd the paper and the room fell silent.

Snape's face stayed expressionless except for a small spot of color on each cheekbone from the excitement. He scanned the photograph, handed it to Harry and took a seat, grabbing his scotch from the table as he sat.

Most started at the anti-climatic reaction, but they were more interested in the article. Everyone turned to Harry.

He took a deep breath and turned his eyes to the picture for the first time. A laugh burst out of his mouth. It was a picture of Severus and Harry. They were having sex. They _were _indeed doing it face to face; Fred did owe George twenty Galleons, as creepy as that bet was.

The picture was undoubtedly the raciest thing Harry'd ever seen in print, and he'd accidentally stumbled on to Sirius's stack of Muggle magazines – not that he'd cared about them, they were all girls, but it was rather awkward. Rita – for it was her article, with a big byline – hadn't bothered censoring it. He turned the page – the picture was too big for an article to fit on the same page, only the headline 'HARRY POTTER IN BED' (rather unimaginative from Harry's point of view) – and gasped. "There's more pictures!"

Snape scrambled over. The two gaped. Evidently, the photographers had been there rather longer than they had thought. As such, there was a picture of Harry blowing Snape, Snape blowing Harry, a naked kiss, mutual hand jobs, and plenty of Severus's tongue _all over_ Harry.

Sirius hesitantly peeked over Snape's shoulder at the images, and had to grasp at Harry for support. He – rather bravely – stole Severus's recently refilled scotch and took a big gulp.

Severus smirked. "Need I remind you where my tongue has been?"

Sirius's eyes shot back to the pictures. They widened.

Severus took a step back just in time to avoid the spray of scotch. He picked his glass nimbly from Sirius's shaking fingers. "Thank you."

Harry was shaking with laughter. The paper, independently of Severus and Harry, was making its rounds. Arthur finally thought to look for the article and found it another page back, after all of the pictures. "Harry, have you even read the article yet?"

Harry could barely breathe with laughter, let alone _read_, so he wheezed out a no.

Remus, who had the most guts, cleared his throat, grabbed the paper, and started to read. "'The _Prophet _now has _exclusive _photographs of Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, in _intimate _positions with his lover, Severin Snape.'"

"They misprinted my name. How could they misprint my name?"

"They made more mistakes than that. Listen. 'Harry's sexual experience at the age of fourteen baffles this writer.'"

"_Fourteen_?"

"Shh! I want to hear the rest of the article."

"It's drivel, really. Do I have to read it?"

A chorus of nods made Remus sigh. "Fine. 'The presence of Snape, a much older man with a questionable Death Eater past-'"

"When is a Death Eater past not questionable?"

"-'makes her even more uncomfortable. If we ignore certain facts, however, the two do make a dashing couple. Snape's long dark hair, dark eyes and pale skin compliments Harry's brown hair, green eyes and scar nicely.'"

Snape shrugged his shoulders. "She finally gets one fact right."

An owl swooped in the window, dropping a small cream envelope to Harry. He opened it. "Ooh, my ring! That was fast."

"Goblins are generally fast workers."

Harry wiggled the Muggle ring off his hand and handed it to Severus, who slipped it on with little fanfare. Harry slipped his ring on, smiling. He felt a slight rush, but dismissed it as excitement.

"Am I done reading the article now?"

"No!"

"Come on, Moony, you have such a _nice _reading voice."

"Shut up, Sirius. Fine. 'The two don't seem to have waited for marriage, recently engaged or not. Our photographers have seen the two together several nights-'"

"Are they not aware how fucking _creepy _that is?"

"-'and, as you can see, the two's sex life is average – for a homosexual couple. There are no power plays or magic involved.'"

"She had to be real depressed about that, don't you think?"

" 'But all of this still has a taste of the sinister about it – especially added in with a comment Harry made at the end of his letter to the editor about Snape wanting him to take his potion. We'll keep you posted with all the developments.'"

"I knew that joke would get me in trouble."

"That's why you wanted to write it."

!*!*!*!

After a day full of Howlers, during which nobody could look Severus and Harry in the eyes, all went to bed. Harry slipped under the covers early, before ten o'clock.

Severus was planning on sitting up a while. "Are you going to sleep already?"

Harry stretched. "I think so. I'm really tired."

"Your ring fits fine, right?"

"It's perfect. I'm never going to take it off."

"All right. Don't lose it."

"I won't." Harry chuckled. He turned over, and fell asleep. Severus wondered why he was so tired, but calmed his paranoia.

_(AN: Sorry it took me a little longer than expected. Please review! The story is nearing a close…)_


	17. Chapter 17

It's Purely Carnal

Chapter 17

_(AN: This chapter is dedicated to A.L. Cullen, who was the only reviewer to pick up on the 'Harry's really tired' thing, which will become important in this chapter. I do want to say one thing about it, so no one gets high hopes or upset: Harry is _not _pregnant. That becomes very obvious, but I wanted to say it.)_

Severus awoke at his normal time, approximately seven o'clock. He was not surprised to see Harry still asleep; this, too, was routine. He went about his morning toiletries, slipped downstairs for the _Prophet _– full of 'Snarry news,' as the paper had dubbed his and Harry's relationship – and a cup of tea, then went back upstairs at eight.

So far, all of this was normal. Harry still asleep at eight was not.

Severus took a steadying sip of his tea and peered closer at the boy. His first instinct was to reach out and touch him. He was cool, but with a strong pulse. His second instinct was to shake Harry, who turned over and groaned. Snape's heart slowed at this sign of life, but he kept shaking him.

Harry – after far too long a period – finally opened his eyes. "Sev? Wha's the matter?"

Severus caught Harry's head and twisted it slightly, looking at his pupils. Snape's eyes widened slightly as a thought occurred to him. "Nothing. I just…wished to inform you that I must go to Hogwarts for the day. It's very sudden, yes, but extremely important."

"Dumbledore?"

Snape nodded, his mouth dry.

"'Kay. Have fun."

Harry's eyes had slid shut again, and Snape swallowed convulsively. "I assure you, I will not."

But Harry had already fallen asleep.

!*!*!*!

Severus pounded on the door of Black's room as loudly as he dared. He hissed "Black" several times before the tired godfather of his fiancée opened the door.

"_What_, Snape? It's like eight o'clock. But you don't sleep, do you, because you're too busy buggering a minor."

Snape's lip curled; it was not a good time to make him angry. "Black, I don't have time to argue with you. Regrettably, I must ask you for a…" He grimaced. "…a favor."

Sirius snorted. "Why would I do that?"

"It involves Harry."

Sirius's whole demeanor changed. "Oh, all right, then. What?"

"You must keep him awake."

"Keep him awake; why? He's a teenager, he sleeps all day. Surely you know that."

"He's been poisoned."

Sirius's eyes widened – it would have been comical if Severus's had not done the same when he reached the conclusion. "How do you know?"

"I brewed the potion."

For several moments, it seemed as if Sirius might have to go back to Azkaban – for killing Snape. "Explain. _Now_."

"I made the potion nearly twenty years ago; you'll have to trust me that it was never intentioned for Harry. I never imagined it would be used for anybody. The potion itself causes immense fatigue in the early stages, then coma, and, eventually, death. It's not the Dark Lord's style; it's just too slow. But it must be him, at least indirectly, as he has the only bottle."

"Harry's dying." Sirius's voice was oddly flat.

Snape used ever ounce of self-control in his body to keep from slapping Black. "He most certainly is not. The potion's only drawback is that there is an antidote – deadly if brewed wrong, but since I invented it I ought to have a fair chance. I'm going to Hogwarts today to begin brewing it. It may take some time; there is a large amount of variables and rare ingredients. But I _will _brew it."

Severus's passion seemed to snap Sirius out of his daze. "How was Harry poisoned?"

"Probably through food, but that's not important right now. The antidote is. One more thing, Black – do not tell Harry of this. It's extremely important."

"You don't want his image of you sullied?"

Snape gritted his teeth. "I don't want him to do anything _foolish_. I know him better than you, Black, and you know that damn well. If he thinks he's dying, he'll become reckless, and he'll decide to take Death Eaters out with him."

Sirius nodded slowly. "Fine. Now go."

Snape took the stairs two at a time, quickly walking through the wards and Disapparating.

!*!*!*!

He feverishly began the antidote. He pulled out the recipe. His memory was good, but he didn't wish to trust Harry's life to his ability to remember an extremely long and complicated list of ingredients, not to mention the order to put them in.

He shuffled around his stores, pulling out the things he needed. "Damn it, fresh Acromantula venom." He penned off a quick note to Hagrid and one to his supplier, pleading with everything that one of them would be able to get it. "Asphodel, with a few counter ingredients." Instead of Draught of Living Death, something to wake someone up. Not that this poison was a Draught of Living Death; it was all Severus's invention, and more powerful for it. "Bezoar, belladonna…crocodile heart, fuck." He peered at the jar hesitantly, but decided it was all right. "A bit of Felix Felicis would help the potion; do I have any?" He reached into a locked cabinet and found his jar. He took a small sip for luck. "Hellebore, a bit of prebrewed Invigoration Draught, sopohorous, valerian… bloody 'ell. I'm even talking to myself."

"And your accent is showing."

Snape barely spared Dumbledore a glance, picking up the other ingredients he needed (things that he shouldn't have without a permit, which he certainly _didn't _have) and began chopping. "Hello, Albus. A bit busy. Fuck." He sealed the cut on his finger.

"What's the matter?"

"I need an antidote."

"To what?"

"You've never heard of it."

Severus caught the vial an old barn owl dropped to him. "Bless you, 'agrid, you oaf."

"Severus, you have a Cockney accent when you're upset."

"I'm rarely ever this upset. And it's not an accent; it's just dropping h's."

"Severus, whatever is the matter?"

"I told you, I need to make an antidote." He lit the cauldron and added water, then the bezoar. "Three stirs counterclockwise, then a clockwise. Albus, if you don't mind, I'm busy…?"

"Severus, I'm always busy, but I made time to come and see you."

Merlin, the man could twinkle. "Please. You sit in your office and eat lemon drops all day, while I'm trying to save a life." He held up a vial. "Four drops Acromantula venom, stir twice clockwise."

"Do you always narrate?"

"Rarely." He chopped up a few ingredients, only pausing to slip dragon hide gloves on. He slipped several things into the cauldron with great care. "Stir seven times each way."

"Whose life are you trying to save?"

"No meddling, Albus; I can do this on my own." He added a few more ingredients. "No stirs, brew for six minutes. Stir counterclockwise once, brew for one minute."

"There are few people who you would work this hard for, Severus; I assume this is about Harry."

He added more. "It's none of your business who it's for. Fuck!" He magically scoured out the cauldron.

"What was the matter with it?"

"Color was tinted wrong; meant it was deadly."

"Severus, what are you brewing?"

He spun around, his eyes dark. "Albus, go away." He meticulously began to rebrew the potion, but only made it as far as the Acromantula venom when Albus touched his shoulder, causing him to add one drop too much. "Fuck, Albus! Do you have any idea how expensive and _rare _Acromantula venom is? And you certainly have no idea as to the importance of this potion. If I don't get it brewed properly, and _soon_, Harry will fall into a coma, and he _will not _wake up, no matter what spells or potions I give him, so kindly _go away _and let me brew this in peace." Severus's chest heaved and he began to chop again.

Albus stood quietly for a moment, then cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, Severus. How long does Harry have?"

He set his knife down, pressing it into the table with his palm. "I don't know. The potion is remarkably hard to measure."

"How do you know all of this?"

"I created it."

Albus's anger was something to see, but his disappointment was worse. It burned into Severus, and he flinched. "You poisoned him and then felt remorse?"

Severus spun around and threw the knife at Dumbledore in a moment of rage. Albus flicked his wand and deflected it easily. "I did not poison Harry." He Accio'd his knife, his lip curling, and finished chopping his ingredients.

"Explain this to me, Severus."

While he brewed, Snape sighed. "It was brewed before Harry was _born_; the potion wasn't meant for him; it wasn't meant for anybody! It was brewed to impress the Dark Lord as a subtle means of killing, but the Dark Lord isn't subtle. He never used it. I wouldn't believe it's him now, if he didn't have the only bottle." The mention of the potion being brewed before Harry was born irked Severus slightly; it made him feel…_old_, and dirty. He stirred quickly.

"Harry is dying?"

"Only if I don't brew this potion quickly. I ought to have the rest of the day and tomorrow, but I wouldn't trust it any longer than that. The antidote isn't complicated, but it's deadly if got wrong."

"Well, you're the best in the world, Severus."

"Flattery will get you no where, Albus; kindly leave me to it."

Albus stood for a minute longer, watching Severus stir, and then slipped out of the room silently.

!*!*!*!

Many hours later, Severus was pacing his rooms and watching the antidote. It had to brew for four hours in the middle of the process, and if the color was even a bit off at the end, he would have to start all over, and he wasn't sure if he'd have time to recreate it. He looked longingly at the Felix Felicis, wishing to take another sip but knowing the first was probably pointless anyway. Potions were tricky things, and magical luck usually didn't help.

A knock on the door went ignored by Severus, but Albus stepped in anyway. "Severus, Harry – and Molly – will be missing you. It's nearly midnight."

"It's nearly done. It needs to brew for" – he checked the clock – "another forty-two minutes, then I have to add a few more ingredients, which should take about an hour, hour and a half."

"Have you had any word from Harry?"

"None at all. I left Black in charge of keeping him awake."

"Should I firecall him for you?"

Severus nodded mutely, and gestured to the fireplace. He grabbed a tin of Floo powder off his desk and handed it to Dumbledore. He checked the potion, which was thankfully still the right shade of blue.

Albus stuck his head in, and whispered with someone who sounded like Molly for a minute. Then he stepped out, and Black Floo'd in.

Severus's lip curled, and he checked the clock again – forty minutes. "I thought you were speaking with him."

"I am, Severus. Don't worry, Molly is watching Harry."

Severus rolled his eyes. "How is Harry?"

Sirius snorted. "Fine." He muttered something that made Albus twinkle.

"What, Black? Speak up. You're not a dog at the moment, so kindly use _words_."

Sirius growled in a rather animal way. "He misses you; alright?"

Severus turned towards the potion and smiled slightly. "Are you _shocked_ at this, Black?"

"Why, because you're fucking him?"

Snape checked the clock. Thirty-nine minutes. "Black, you do realize that it's not only _me _fucking _him_, and that there is a certain amount of _consent_ and _reciprocation_ going on?"

"Was that a fancy way of telling me that he fucks you too?" Sirius shivered slightly. "Don't make me think about my godson like that."

Thirty-eight minutes. "_Godson_, my arse. He doesn't look to you for anything!"

Sirius shifted uncomfortably. "He wants me to teach him how to be an Animagus."

"You don't have the patience."

"I learned how!"

"Yes, you learned how to be a dog to keep your werewolf company; Harry doesn't have any animals to keep company." Thirty-seven.

"What about me?"

"What about _me_, Black? He prefers me over you, even if he _wasn't _sleeping with me."

The two stood close, breathing heavily.

Albus laid a hand on Severus's shoulder. "Enough please. Both of you are stressed. Sirius, perhaps you ought to go back to Harry. Severus, you have about forty minutes of brewing time left, I believe?"

"Thirty-six." He turned to Black reluctantly. "Have you kept Harry awake?"

Sirius grimaced. "All day and all night. I'm running out of excuses for why."

"Start shooting Ennervate at him if you run out. _Do not _let him sleep. I ought to be back in two hours or less."

Sirius grabbed a handful of Floo powder and left. Albus slipped out of the door soon after, leaving Severus alone.

!*!*!*!

Precisely thirty-five and a half minutes later, Severus checked the color and nearly fell over. It was still the perfect shade. He worked tirelessly for the next hour and twenty minutes, adding the final ingredients with great care.

When he bottled the final solution, he realized how big a batch he'd made, but decided that was a good idea. He held on to the precious bottle with equal care as holding Harry. He threw the Floo powder into the fire and stepped in, calling out The Burrow with an excited voice.

!*!*!*!

Severus brought Harry a glass of water with the antidote in it. "Drink this."

Harry took it. "Why?"

Severus sighed. "Harry, for once, don't question me."

"Nothing odd?"

"Nothing odd." The untruth came easily; it was necessary.

Harry shrugged and drank it all. "Can I sleep now? I'm so tired."

Severus nodded. Harry snuggled down into the bedclothes. Severus leaned down, over the lad who had been so close to death and didn't know it, and planted a kiss on his forehead. Harry smiled before drifting into a peaceful sleep.

_(AN: Ooh, look at me, posting a chapter on the fourth of July – which also happens to be my birthday. Presents will be excepted in the form of fanart of a scene from IPC – kidding, kidding, no presents are necessary. But if you all wanted to draw fanart… I'd be forever grateful. I know you're also probably thinking this story is over, but it's got a few more chapters to go, and there's some serious revelations coming. By no means are the troubles over. Again, A.L. Cullen is the only one to have voiced her ideas as to what happened, and she is correct – but in the interest of suspense, dear, please don't tell anyone! It's all going to come out soon…)_


	18. Chapter 18

It's Purely Carnal

Chapter 18

Severus shook Harry awake at a little after eight the next morning, unable to shake his paranoia quite yet. The boy woke in his usual manner and stumbled sleepily into the bathroom. Severus smiled slightly and went downstairs for another cup of tea.

Sirius still looked pale and sleepy from his time keeping Harry awake, and was swallowing ungodly amounts of coffee with heaping tablespoons of sugar. Harry slipped down the stairs with a nod towards Sirius and a kiss on the cheek for Severus (who took an obscene amount of pleasure at Black's glare) and sat down with a cup of tea. He grabbed the sugar bowl and started talking while pouring sugar into his tea. "Sirius, if you teach me to be an Animagus like we were talking about yesterday-"

Severus cleared his throat.

Harry ignored him. "-I know we can't do it legally, for security reasons and all that bullshit, but after the war's over we can have me verified, can't we?"

Severus cleared his throat again, but found himself – again – ignored by godfather and godson.

Sirius grinned. "I don't see why not."

Severus sighed, exasperated. "Harry, you want _him _to teach you dangerous magic?"

"Why not?"

"He's not qualified."

"He learned how."

"Ask him how."

Sirius blushed slightly under Harry's searching gaze. "There was a bit of, um…sex involved."

Harry burst out laughing. "What?"

"The best way we found to become an Animagus was to release your animal instincts, and…sex happened to be a good way." Sirius tried to avoid Severus's smug face.

"Are you saying you slept with my dad and Pettigrew?"

Sirius spit out his sip of coffee. "Merlin, no! We found _girls_, of course." He shot a quick look around. "Although we never did figure out why Remus insisted on sleeping with somebody too – he said something about forming pack unity, but I think he just wanted an excuse to bed the hot Ravenclaw who was after him-"

"I heard that." Remus came around the corner into the kitchen. "And I didn't sleep with _her_; she kept trying to slip me love potions."

"Then who did you fuck?"

Remus's face reddened slightly. "None of your business."

Tonks followed her fiancée into the kitchen and touched his arm. "_I _know."

Sirius grinned. "Spill!"

"I don't think so. Pack unity, remember?"

"Bull. Come on! It wasn't Lily, was it?"

"Of course not. James would have found out and kicked my arse."

"Well, who was it?"

Remus grinned shyly. "Alright. Do you remember who _you _fucked?"

Sirius howled indignantly. "You didn't!"

Harry was laughing uncontrollably by this point, while Tonks and Severus just watched the drama unfold.

"Not Regina!"

"Hey, _she _asked _me_."

"Why did you have to fuck someone anyway? You already turned into an animal."

"Sirius, I was a teenager. I _had _to fuck _someone_."

"You dog!"

Severus sighed. "A rather interesting insult for you, Black."

The bickering was interrupted by Arthur entering the kitchen with a letter with a Ministry seal in his hand. "Harry, Fudge wants to see you again."

Harry was still laughing, so all he could do was nod. Severus sighed. "Alright. When does the Minister expect us?"

"Actually, he just wants Harry to come."

Harry managed to stop laughing. "He probably just doesn't want you to make a fool out of all the Aurors again."

Severus snorted. "It was easy."

Arthur smiled. "Anyway, Harry, you're supposed to come in with me. I'm leaving in about half an hour."

"Sounds good." Harry grabbed the plate of toast Molly floated towards him and spread marmalade over two pieces. Severus took a piece for himself.

!*!*!*!

Harry rushed out the door thirty-two minutes later, after a quick goodbye kiss from Severus, to Disapparate with Arthur. The two of them landed and walked into the Ministry. Arthur left Harry waiting in a corridor for the Minister and went to his office.

Harry yawned and leaned against the wall. He closed his eyes and yawned again. _Why am I so tired?_

A minute later, he was sleeping, slumped against the wall.

!*!*!*!

The Minister's impression of Harry Potter from their last meeting was that he was a rather insolent young boy, so he waited nearly an hour for him before getting worried. Then he sent several panicked messages to everyone he could think of.

!*!*!*!

Severus sat sipping another cup of tea when the owl arrived. He picked up the letter and opened it, absentmindedly handing the bird a piece of scone.

_Harry is missing_, the letter said. _Come at once_.

!*!*!*!

When Molly came to see the cause of the crash, she found a shattered teacup, a disgruntled, rather wet owl, and no Severus.

!*!*!*!

Severus leaned on the Minister's desk, shouting at the poor man for no other reason than it made him feel better about the whole thing. He'd been in the office for no more than five minutes when all scheduled parties had arrived, and Snape decided that the sooner, the better, so he cleared his throat and prepared to make his announcement.

When he was certain everyone was watching him – even a rather red-faced Black – he swept the room with his eyes and coughed slightly. "I know Harry's location."

That sparked the outbreak he'd expected it would. For a moment, the room was chaos, until Albus shouted at them.

Severus inclined his head in thanks. "I placed a…undetectable tracking spell on Harry not long ago. The spell itself is of…questionable character-"

Black broke in. "Are you saying you put Dark spells on Harry?"

Snape sneered. "It's only Dark magic if used for Dark purposes, and this was placed on Harry with the sincerest intentions. The spell itself, yes, is categorized by the Ministry as Dark magic, because it is undetectable to all except the caster, including the person it is tracking, but also because it can be used to harm the mind."

Black grimaced. "So now you're fucking with Harry's mind as well as his body?"

"Shut up, Black; this is no time for fighting if we want to see Harry alive again. Perhaps you all have delusions, but I suffer from no such things. These Death Eaters – because it is surely them who have taken Harry – will be carrying him to the Dark Lord as soon as they can gain an audience; with the Dark Lord's flair, we have some time before Harry is killed, but time is still of the essence." He cleared his throat again and reached into a pocket of his robes, unshrinking a package as he did so. "We have a few advantages; namely, Harry's Invisibility Cloak with a few additions-"

Black muttered something about theft and Dark Magic and was ignored.

"-along with, of course, the tracking spell. Now, listen – I will take the Cloak and follow the spell. I will assure that Harry is safe. No one else will follow." The end of his sentence was, predictably, drowned out by angry cries. "The more people that follow, the more obvious we will be; plus, I am the only one who can follow the spell – anymore of you would simply slow me down."

Albus nodded his consent and sent a look at Sirius, who heeled slightly.

Severus looked around. "All agreed? Good." He stepped into the Floo, which carried him to the outside of the Ministry, where he slipped the Cloak on and then Disapparated, trusting the spell to take him to Harry.

!*!*!*!

Snape walked carefully into the compound where the spell had led him, quieting the urge to subdue the Death Eaters he saw, if only for the element of surprise it would give him.

He followed the spell's tug to a large, arena-like room. He took a place at near a wall and turned towards the fight.

Harry was barely on his feet. The boy had a secret power, but with the poisoning he was severely slowed down, to the point where (Severus's heart nearly stopped) his eyes were drifting shut every few curses he managed to deflect. If it wasn't for the Dark Lord simply toying with Harry, he would be dead by now. Even as such, Harry was panting heavily and limping, and a cut on his arm bled freely.

Snape watched for a moment longer, itching to do something but unwilling to reveal himself quite yet. After a moment longer, when Harry's eyes continued to droop alarmingly lowly, he managed to shoot a secretive _Ennervate _at him. Harry jumped a little, but resumed defending himself with vigor.

!*!*!*!

Harry was growing increasingly desperate. His education, supplemented by Severus or not, was not up to par with Voldemort's skills. He was currently attempting to keep himself alive.

When it suddenly became clear to him that his chances of getting out of this fight alive were slim, he realized something – if he was going to die, he was going to do his best to take Voldemort out with him. So he started using more…interesting curses, which didn't escape Voldemort's notice.

The silky tones were grating on Harry's ears. "Really, Harry? Attempting an Unforgivable? You don't have the skill."

Harry dodged a curse and opened his mouth to reply with a caustic comment he'd stolen from Severus, but he found himself screaming with pain instead.

Voldemort Crucio'd him again. "Weak. Just like your Mudblood of a mother. And your spineless father – he died first, you know. You are nothing, just like everyone I've ever squashed beneath me. The Boy Who Lived – dying at my feet, after all these years. Frankly, I hoped it'd be more of a challenge."

With the Crucio ended, Harry breathed heavily, trying to pick up his wand but finding himself too weak.

Voldemort sneered. "After I kill you, guess who I'm going after next? I'm going to find your little fuck toy, and I'm going to torture him, and then I'm going to kill him."

Harry panted and reached for his wand.

Severus took a step towards Harry, and started a spell. He stopped when he saw Harry pick up his wand, and settled for quietly disabling the Death Eaters in the room instead.

Voldemort smirked. "He'll be no challenge, because he's weak and a waste of space. I don't understand your attraction to him, really – I suppose anything with an arsehole is enough for you."

Harry stood up. Voldemort laughed coldly. "Perhaps I'll Apparate over after I kill you and let him see the body before he dies."

Harry's eyes were a sight to see. Even Severus flinched from them.

Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, the Chosen One, Saint Potter, raised his wand at Voldemort, who was laughing. He whispered the two little words that sounded nothing like what they were and calmly watched the green light shoot across the room to hit Voldemort's chest. The Dark Lord, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, You-Know-Who, opened his eyes wide as he slumped off the raised platform and died.

Harry's wand fell to the floor, closely followed by the Boy Who Lived himself.

Severus gathered his young lover into his arms with a final look at his dead once-master, and Disapparated.

_(AN: It's not over yet. EDITED 7/11/11 to fix a mix-up between Sirius and Severus.)_


	19. Chapter 19

It's Purely Carnal

Chapter 19

Severus, for lack of a better place to go, took Harry back to the Minister's office, as loath as he was to do anything but get a drink and then, once Harry woke up, snog him senseless once more. The office was just as crowded as it had been before Severus had left, and he found it rather claustrophobic when everyone crowded around him (he was fairly certain one of the Weasley twins planted a kiss on his cheek from behind, but when he turned around to glare, he didn't see them). At some point during all the shouting, Harry woke up. He tensed from all the commotion until Severus placed his hand at the back of his neck. The boy spun around and grinned.

"Did it work? Did I get him?"

Severus resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Would everyone be celebrating if you had failed?"

"Well, I rather hoped I'd wake up to a nice victory fuck."

Severus growled deep in his throat. "Keep that grin up and I'll have to take you right here."

Harry roared with laughter. "Let's get out of here."

"I think your fan club would love it if you told them the story first – be sure to make it extra dramatic so they'll leave you alone for a few hours."

Harry grinned again and kissed Severus quickly, moving to make his rounds. Dumbledore caught him first and got a full, unedited, unembellished version, but when he moved on to the Minister, Severus noticed that he did add a few extra details – no lies, but with a bit more drama.

Snape caught the Minister exchanging a rather strange look with one of his aides. Shaking a head at his paranoia, but unable to curb it, he moved to stand behind Harry, who grinned up at him before continuing the story for Sirius.

Black whistled. "You used an Unforgivable?"

"What else was I supposed to use?"

"How'd you manage that?"

Harry shot a quick look over his shoulder at Severus, whose eyebrows were raised in curiosity himself, and flushed a little. "He was insulting…people. Made me mad."

Severus thought back for a minute, and decided to save his questions on the matter for later.

Sirius whistled again. "Well…what do I say here?"

Harry grinned and hugged Sirius firmly.

Someone tapped Harry on the shoulder, and all parties turned towards him. It was an Auror Severus vaguely remembered from his duels, one of the more competent ones, backed up with a few more. They took a step towards Harry.

The one who'd tapped Harry on the shoulder – some Mugglish name – cleared his throat. "You used an Unforgivable to kill You-Know-Who?"

Harry nodded and took a half step back into Severus.

"May we speak to you for a moment?" He shot a look at Severus, who was succeeding at his goal to be as terrifying as possible. "Alone?"

Severus scowled. "I imagine whatever you have to say can be said here as well as it can be said _alone_."

A couple of the Aurors in the back paled, but the stupid one in front just nodded. "Alright. Harry…well, you're being arrested. Magical Law Enforcement is on their way now. We're just here in order to-"

"Keep Sev from killing them? He's already kicked your arses once; what makes you think he won't do it again?" Harry smiled slightly.

It was clear from the expressions on some of the Aurors that they had no doubt that they _were_ about to get their arses kicked, _again_, but the leader continued on. "As I've said, MLE is on the way – decide if you want to be on the run for the rest of your life."

Severus reached for his wand and took a step forward, but was stopped by Harry.

"What am I being arrested for?"

"For the use of an Unforgivable."

Severus rolled his eyes and tried to shake Harry off him. _He'd _used Unforgivables before, and _he'd _never been arrested.

Harry raised an eyebrow. "I just saved the whole bloody Wizarding world, and you're going to arrest me for doing it?"

Severus saw that, despite his calm face, Harry was quickly headed towards hysterics.

The Auror shot a look around, noticing that his hopefully quiet arrest was going badly. The Minister himself looked in a rather awkward position. "Rules are rules, no matter who you are."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Don't I get some kind of hero's immunity? I mean, honestly, how else was I supposed to kill the most powerful Dark wizard of all time?"

His voice was shrill. Severus flinched slightly. Aurors were antagonizing an already stressed teenager who had just killed a powerful wizard. And he was surprised Wizarding Britain was falling apart. Honestly.

"Look, Harry, we don't have a choice; we've got orders from the head of the Department-"

Severus looked at Kingsley while the Aurors tried to placate Harry. "Do you know anything about this?"

"Not a thing. But, Severus, I don't control everyone. It's possible they really do have orders to arrest him. They could be working for someone else in the MLE outside of the Auror office, as well." He looked grave.

An MLE patrol appeared, backed up with Hit Wizards and even more Aurors. Severus rolled his eyes.

Harry sat down heavily. "Am I really getting arrested?"

"I'm afraid so."

"Well, we're going downstairs for a court session, right?"

All the officials exchanged looks. "Actually, the protocol for any dangerous wizard who has used Unforgivables in the past states that we must take you…to Azkaban."

Harry's mouth dropped open. "Azkaban?"

Severus growled. "You can't be serious."

The Aurors started to get nervous. "It's just until your trial."

Severus put a hand on Harry's shoulder. "And how long will that be?"

"As long as it takes to find evidence."

"Which could be months for a trial like this." Severus took a step towards the Aurors, who cowered slightly.

"We will, of course, work as quickly and efficiently as possible in order to get the trial moving as fast as possible."

"So you're just gonna throw me … in Azkaban … with Dementors … for several months." Harry was pale.

"I'm afraid we have no choice."

Kingsley stepped up. "Where are your orders coming from?"

"Not the Auror office."

"So where?"

"That's not important. What is important is that we take Mr. Potter to Azkaban."

"Let me see your papers." Kingsley took the warrant the Auror handed him, and checked it for authenticity. "It's real. Harry, you really are under arrest."

Harry tried to bolt then, and Severus Stunned a few Aurors before he felt a hand on his shoulder. He glared, and it was quickly removed.

Kingsley. "Don't."

"What do you mean, _don't_?" Severus grimaced. "Of course I'm going to."

"They've already got Harry."

Snape had noticed.

Kingsley rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm heading over to the MLE offices right now. I'm going to do everything I can. You, however, are going to go back to Hogwarts."

"Like hell I am."

"You are, Severus."

"Don't try and tell me what to do, Kingsley."

He leaned in. "Look, I get it. You're upset. But Stunning every Auror in the place won't do any damn good except to get you thrown in Azkaban too. Harry's strong. He'll be all right for a few days."

Snape heard little of Kingsley's words, trying to calm his pulse down at seeing Harry yawn. What if… "I can't." The words were low, not meant for Kingsley's ears.

He heard anyway. "You've got to."

The two exchanged a glance. Severus nodded, slightly distracted by Harry's wild eyes.

The Aurors took Harry out then. Severus reached out and tapped the back of Harry's neck and slumped shoulders, and Harry straightened. He turned, but the Aurors kept walking.

Severus followed them, at a distance where he could claim he was just going the same way, if asked. He watched them take Harry to a Floo point. As the green flames surrounded Harry, Severus turned from the sight.

_(AN: I'm so, so sorry. I feel I owe you all an explanation: I've had computer troubles, no time to write and lots of homework. In addition – you have no idea how much it pains me to say this – after watching the final Harry Potter movie, and particularly Snape's death scene, I hit some serious writer's block. I'm just not feeling this story anymore. But I owe it to all of you who love this story to finish it. Just know that I'm trying.)_


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